Unfortunate
by draconicBastard
Summary: Dib and Zim are both unfortunate beings. Dib has been kicked out and Zim...he is just always having a hard time. I don't want to give anything away, but Gir is a phsyco.
1. 1 Death

Chapter One: Death

Zim and Dib are 17

Gaz is 16

…

"Hmm," Professor Membrane said, after having examined the DNA carefully, "This is interesting."

_Is he really going to believe me this time?_ Dib thought to himself, his heart racing in excitement. Was his father really going to listen to his son for once? After all his years of chasing Zim and gathering information, was someone going to hear him out?

"There is only one conclusion to evidence like this," His father stated matter-of-factly.

"Uh-huh," Dib said, urging him to continue.

"This Zim-boy is an alien," Dib's father said. Dib's heart nearly broke out of his chest, someone believed him for once! "And from what you've told me, he's a major threat to the populace," Professor Membrane boomed in his powerful voice. "Thus, he must be destroyed," he said.

Dib thought he was going to pass out. "But…Dad! He's an alien!"

"Yes, a threat to our populace! I already said this, my poor insane son," Professor Membrane said.

"We can't destroy him, we need to dissect him and find out how to stop the armada!" Dib yelled at his father.

"Dib…" His father sighed, "If there were really an armada, wouldn't they have come by now. I think it's the alien's bluff."

"But Dad!" Dib yelled, not understanding his father's ignorance of the need to research the Irkens more.

"Now, Dib, be a good _sane_ son and make your father toast," Professor Membrane said, anti-climactically. Dib grumbled a fine and stalked off to the kitchen. "I already called the labs, they're making us weapons as we speak. This alien will never take Earth!"

Dib stopped in his tracks; the scientists were already in progress. This meant Zim could never be exploited or even tortured. They would never find out about the armada, whether it was real or not. Dib just had to do something about that. He wouldn't let his father destroy Zim, not yet.

Dib grabbed his gear and swept out of the house before his father even began to wonder where his toast was. Soon, Dib stood in front of the lawn gnomes. He had to admit, after several years on Earth, the gnomes still looked new.

After all this time, Dib finally found the perfect way into Zim's base. He picked up a smallish rock and threw it at the door. Soon Gir stood outside the door, but then ran outside when he saw Dib holding up a waffle.

"Hey, there, Gir. Wanna waffle?" Dib asked, as if Gir were two years old. Gir screamed and ran to Dib, tackling the waffle and ripping it to shreds. Not what Dib expected, but still okay. "Now I'm just going to give Zim some waffles, okay Gir?" Dib said as he easily bypassed the gnomes and walked inside.

"Master says no one may enter," Gir said in his duty mode, standing in front of Dib. Dib just stood and waited, these moments never lasted long. "Can I has more waffles?"

"Sure…" Dib tossed some more waffles at Gir, who nearly exploded with happiness. Dib smiled at Zim's helpless assistant. Now to find Zim.

Dib stood on the toilet platform and flushed. He always wondered why the house worked this way, and if there were any other entrances. He didn't wonder long as he finally landed and heard cursing, rough and thick, coming from the lab. He didn't know the Irken language, but the tone implied cursing.

Dib watched as Zim opened the panel of his cruiser and smoke billowed out, more cursing from Zim. The cruiser looked like a bus hit it, again. It was probably Gir that ruined it. Gir was so destructive.

"Looks like a bus hit it," Dib called out. Zim looked towards him, not looking surprised for once. Gir hardly ever actually kept anyone out. He let people in all the time.

"Gir let you in, didn't he…" Zim suspected, turning back to the cruiser. His pak opened up and tools came to Zim's hands as he started fixing Gir's mess.

"You really should have a better defense," Dib suggested. Zim shrugged, not even looking at Dib. Dib considered the situation, normally it would have been good. The defenses were down, the cruiser was demolished and Zim couldn't care that Dib infiltrated the base again. Dib would normally take the advantage to spy and gather more information and proof to Zim's existence. But with scientists about to come kill Zim, Dib was worried that they might not get away fast enough.

"Zim," Dib said, getting his attention, Zim glanced over for a moment before going back to work. "Zim, there are people coming to kill you right this moment, we need to get out of here."

"What are talking about, Dib-stink?" Zim asked. "Gir!" Zim yelled, not even letting Dib talk first. Gir showed up immediately, bits of waffle on his mouth. "Take the smelly human out of here, now."

"Yes, master!" Gir said, taking the order. He grabbed Dib arm and started to drag him away. Dib smacked Gir away, knocking him out of duty mode in the process.

"Zim, I'm serious, we need to get out. Professor Membrane really believes that you're an alien now, and he wants to destroy you!" Dib yelled. Zim quit working and turned to him.

"And why would I believe you, the one who is also attempting to corrupt the almighty ZIM! You might well be planning a trap!" Zim yelled.

"Yay, a trap!" Gir yelled happily.

"No, Gir, that's bad," Zim said lazily. Gir started screaming and running in circles.

"Professor Membrane is my Dad…I know what he's planning to do. He wants to destroy you to save mankind, but I still need to experiment on you. And I need to know when the Irken armada is supposed to come and how to stop them!" Dib cried in frustration.

"That's simple, Dibbers," Zim laughed, "The Irken armada cannot be stopped. As soon as ZIM calls for them, they will be here to wipe out your puny race!" Zim yelled triumphantly.

"Hmm, so you have to call them first?" Dib asked.

"Eh," Zim glanced at Dib. "Who told you that?"

"Zim, you."

"WHO!"

"You di-"

"WHO!"

"Geez, Zim, no wonder you haven't been able to take over the planet," Dib speculated.

"Oh, I'm just waiting, and when the time is right, Zim shall!" Zim yelled loudly. Dib heard something upstairs. A small alarm went off nearby.

'Intruders, alert. Intruders, alert,' The computer warned them.

Dib cursed, his father was already there. "Computer, stall them!" Zim yelled.

"Zim, stop yelling! You'll let them know where we are!" Dib whispered.

"ZIM shall never be stopped-" Dib tackled Zim, making him shut up.

"Gir," Dib called.

"Watcha want?" Gir said.

"Go up and confuse the people there," Dib ordered.

"Okey-dokey," Gir agreed.

"How dare you order MY robot around!" Zim whispered, freeing himself form Dib.

"It doesn't matter, Zim. If you want to continue taking over the world, we have to get out of here NOW!" Dib hissed. "Is there an escape hatch somewhere."

Zim looked thoughtful for a moment. "Yeah, over there," Zim said pointing to a wall panel. Dib ran to it, leaving Zim staring at the door.

"Zim, come on!" Dib whispered loudly. Zim still waited for a moment. Gir came running into the room and Zim finally strode to the panel. Dib removed it to reveal a long tunnel way, sloping downward. "It goes down? We're already underground, shouldn't it go upward?"

"Shut up, human-FILTH!" Zim hissed, and pushed Dib down the hatch. Dib screamed and hoped the end of the tunnel was soft.

Zim jumped on Gir's back and he flew down the passage way after Dib. They landed in a small underground room. The roof was low to the ground. But they could both walk without hunching over.

Dib sat up and looked around. "Hey, this doesn't look like escape."

"Oh, but it is, stupid earth creature. Look that way," Zim said, acting superior. All Dib saw was a huge-ish box.

"What is it?" Dib asked, confounded about it's nature. Zim took this chance to pretend he was way smarter. He started to walk to the box, striding boastfully.

"It's-" But Zim didn't get to finish his sentence. There was a loud boom by the tunnel. And then smoke and fire filled the air for a moment. Dib tried to dodge and get cover. But he wondered about Zim, he'd been in the middle of the room and in plain view from the tunnel. Dib just hoped Gir was malfunctioning and that it wasn't his father.

When the smoke cleared Dib jumped up. He looked around and saw that the roof had collapsed in on the room. Dib could see his father high above on another floor, looking down on the room. He jumped out of view. Soon Professor Membrane left and Dib examined the place again. Zim wasn't to be seen.

"…Zim?" Dib called wearily. Then realizing that he didn't need to worry about volume anymore, "ZIM!" He yelled out. His dad left because he believed Zim to be dead, but Dib wouldn't let that happen.

…

Someone was yelling…were they on fire..? Zim wished he could see. Everything was dark. So much pain…why did it hurt so much? He wished he could tell the person yelling to shut up, it was agonizing him. There was so much pressure…on his chest, on his limbs. Something wet too. The yelling got closer. He moved a little, trying to make the yelling stop.

But there was no air. There was no air to yell at the person. Why wasn't there…had the underground oxygen tanks been ruptured, he didn't think so. The yelling above stopped abruptly when Zim moved. Then more yelling, louder and quicker. Zim tried to get some air to make it stop, but couldn't. There was too much pressure anyway. Too much pressure and pain.

Pressure started ebbing away from his chest. Good, he thought, he still couldn't breathe, but maybe the pain would go away if the pressure did. It didn't. But it did start getting darker, and the yells became more distant. Now Zim could sleep. He didn't know why, but sleep seemed to sound so good right now.

"ZIM!" A yell woke him. He shuddered, the pain was worse with air colliding into it. "Zim! Don't give up…not yet, not now!" The yelling was so close now. It was Dib, Zim realized. Maybe Dib could make the pain go away, make it better.

Something pressed onto his face and air rushed into his lungs, at the same time making the pain inflame. He struggled to grasp to reality, not wanting to slip away from it. A strangled yell escaped him, surprising himself.

"Zim!" A pained cry came from Dib. He kept doing whatever it was he did to make air go into Zim. But every time he did, the air just whipped back out or Zim would yell. Zim's lungs felt caved in, he wondered if Dib knew that. He probably did.

It was getting darker now, harder to keep the air in. The pain started going away for once, Zim was turning numb. He thanked the Tallest that the pain was gone. He couldn't feel anything.

"Relax, Zim…just breathe," Dib told him, his voice getting more distant. Zim realized his arms were clutching something tightly. So tightly it almost hurt. They relaxed and fell. But Zim didn't feel it, he was too numb now. But he still couldn't breathe. He tried to tell his pak to make breathing easier, but his pak was fried out. He didn't need the pak to live, but it made things easier. But now it was dark and he couldn't bother to think about breathing now. Time to sleep.

…

"Zim!" Dib yelled again. Zim stopped moving now and went limp. Dib was trying to make Zim breathe, but his lungs and chest had been completely crushed by a rock. Dib got an idea. "GIR!" Dib yelled. Gir stumbled up to his side.

"Uh-huh," Gir said lazily.

"Gir, look, your master," Dib said, "He's dying." Gir finally looked down at Zim and saw. Then he held his hands to his head and shrieked. "You can make it stop, go get these things," Dib said calmly, writing a list of things on paper and handing it to Gir. He glanced at it and ran off, screaming as he went. Soon Gir came back with the supplies and Dib got to work, with occasional help from Gir.

…

"Hello? Zim?" Tallest red called through the speaker.

"He's not home, let's just end transmission," Tallest purple suggested. Red shrugged.

"Wait!" Dib yelled, suddenly appearing in front of the transmitter.

"Who are you?" Purple asked in a bored, yet surprised tone.

"I'm Dib," He said, hooking something up to the transmitter.

"You're human, and you're in Zim's base…" Purple noticed.

"Does this mean Zim is dead?" Red asked hopefully.

"Actually he's just incapacitated at the moment," Dib said, not seeing their disappointment. "I have some questions for you."

"What makes you think we'll listen to you?" Red asked. "End transmission," he ordered. There was a click, but the image still stayed on the screen. Dib grinned.

"Hey, Red, why is he still there?" Purple asked. Purple looked at the screen astounded.

"I've made it so that only I can end the transmission. Now answer all my questions," Dib commanded. Both Tallest just shrugged. "One, when is the armada coming to earth?" Both brothers started laughing hysterically.

"There…haha…there's no armada headed to…earth!" Purple said between laughs.

"But…Zim said…" Dib said confusedly. Was it really a bluff? Zim didn't seem smart enough to make it up.

"Haha, it's genius really," Red boasted. "Zim only _thinks _there's an armada coming."

"But…why? Why would you lie to your own soldier? What's the point of him being here?" Dib asked all at once.

"There isn't a point, that the good part!" Purple burst out. They started to laugh even more.

Dib was just confused, but let them get over their laughter. Then Red continued, "Have you noticed how destructive Zim is?" Dib nodded, "We can't have that around the Irken armada, he screws up all the invasions!"

"So," Purple took up, "We sent him to an uncharted, unnamed planet on the other side of the universe from us." Purple started eating pretzels.

"Wait…what does that accomplish?" Dib asked, trying to grasp the concept.

"Nothing!" Red yelled, "Heh, we expected him to die before he even found the planet."

"But Zim just won't die!" Purple exclaimed, "We've tried everything to doom him. We even gave him that dumb robot made of garbage."

"As long as he stays on earth and keeps failing at his mission, then the Irken Empire is safe," Red concluded.

"What if I send him back?" Dib asked, formulating a lie that would have Zim retreating back to Irk.

Both Tallest looked frightened. "You would really do that?" Purple asked in a scared voice.

Red pushed Purple out of the way, "No way, all invader's are programmed to be dedicated to the mission. Zim would never leave without wiping out the humans."

"You mean his pak?" Dib asked with an evil smile.

"Eh…yeah," Red answered.

"It got destroyed, Zim's not programmed into anything right now," Dib said, "And I can make him believe the human race is wiped out easily. There's nothing keeping me from doing it, you know."

Both Tallest looked like the world was about to end. They huddled and whispered. Red turned around grinning, which scared Dib. "Keep Zim on earth or else we'll send our strongest armada to entirely decimate the planet earth, you'll feel the true wrath of the Irken Empire through the soles of our shoes."

"Wow, Red, you got creepy there for a minute," Purple commented.

"Yeah, weird how that happens sometimes," Red said back. They both turned to Dib.

"Fine…As long as Zim is on earth, you'll leave earth alone?" Dib asked.

"Yup, we won't go anywhere near it," Purple promised. Red agreed.

"So we have a peace agreement…" Dib concluded.

"Can we go now, we're very busy…" Red said. Dib ended the transmission. Earth was safe, except for the alien still on earth. Dib went back to where Zim lay, still unconscious, but not dying.

Dib suddenly felt a little sorry for Zim, he sympathized with him even. Everyone hated Dib, except his family, who just thought he was insane. Everyone on Zim's home planet hated him, especially his leaders. Dib didn't think Zim even had family to turn to. Zim was just a tool. Not even a tool, just something thrown away.

Zim had no one, just his malfunctioning robot. He was on earth just so his leaders could operate without him. They even wanted him dead. Zim had no real purpose in life. All he wanted was to serve his leaders, The Tallest, and complete his mission proudly. And yet that's exactly what everyone pursued to keep from him.

Dib and Zim were actually very similar. Not that Dib would ever let Zim know that. The only difference was that Dib was much better at seeing the obvious, and he did let Zim know that, quite often actually. Maybe now he would tease him less.

Dib looked at Zim, almost wishing for those piercing red eyes to open. Why was Dib feeling this way so suddenly? Why did his chest feel warm? Was it Zim? Was Zim really making him feel like this? This made Dib almost sick, but also a little warm inside, which he couldn't explain. He had to get out of there.

"Nnn," Came a groan from behind him. Dib turned around, astonished that Zim was awake so soon. He'd been so badly injured. "Where you going?" Zim asked harshly.

"I can't stay here forever," Dib reminded him.

"You're the one who caused this…at least keep Gir busy…" Zim suggested, sitting up painfully and glancing away from Dib. Dib scoffed at Zim, but went off to find Gir, which is what he should have already done. If an injured Zim were left alone with the crazy Gir…who knows what Gir would do to make Zim worse. Dib spent the time in the elevator wondering why he cared what Gir did to Zim, but didn't reach a conclusion before the elevator landed at the lab.

Gir was on the floor, playing with mini-moose. Dib couldn't see the harm in that. Then Gir threw mini-moose at a computer monitor and shattered it's glass, Dib winced. Gir really was dangerous. "Hiya Dib!" Gir called out.

"Eh, hi Gir," Dib said nervously.

"Let's make muffins!" Gir said unexpectedly, running towards the elevator and dragging Dib with him.

"Uh, okay," He said. Muffins…can't do any harm with muffins, Dib thought. And this would keep Gir busy.

…

Muffins were a bad idea. The toaster was floating around the kitchen, thanks to a cord attached to it, and it was popping out toast randomly. The oven door kept opening and closing. And muffin mix was everywhere. Gir was crazy. It kind of made Dib laugh at how ridiculous Zim's house was.

Suddenly Dib's watch beeped. He clicked various buttons on it and found out it was Gaz calling him. He opened the transmission.

"Dib, are you still out there?" Gaz asked.

"What do you, Gaz?" Dib asked back, wondering why she called in the first place.

"It's 12:53 at night and you're still out chasing ghosts?" Gaz asked.

"Uh, yeah…" Dib said, not letting her know about Zim.

"I'm kicking you out…" Gaz informed him.

"What?" Dib said. How could she kick him out, she was only 16, she didn't have the authority.

"Dad is never home and you're insane, so I'm taking charge. You have to stay out of the house now…" Gaz said with pure hate in her voice.

"But Gaz-" She ended the transmission and Dib was left in an alien's house with a robot who was singing some sort of song…the only word he was saying was 'doom' and he was shaking his butt everywhere.

Now Dib needed a new place to stay, certainly not at Zim's house. How could he stay with his enemy? He would never do that. He didn't actually know anyone else in person. He could ask the paranormal researchers he knew online, although they hardly ever released their identity and would probably turn him down.

"What's going on here?" Zim asked from the doorway.

"Huh," Dib muttered. He'd been staring off into space, not paying attention to Gir on the floor.

"I made muffins!" Gir announced. He had a plate of muffins before him, along with mini-moose, who Dib hadn't noticed came back.

"Yes…you did," Zim said, taking notice of the mess in the kitchen. "Dib-filth, I no longer require your pitiful assistance, OUT!" Zim yelled, pointing at the door.

"Zim, I just saved your life," Dib pointed out, wanting Zim to at least be a little nicer.

"LIAR! No human could do such a thing!" Zim yelled.

"You were there! Don't you remember?" Dib asked, knowing Zim was conscious for a few moments of him helping.

"OUT! Get out you!" Zim yelled, ignorantly. Dib just snorted.

"Fine, like I'd want to be here anyway," Dib puffed out as he walked past Zim. Dib was off to find a new home, preferably one without an annoying alien and destructive alien in it.

"Aww…why you have to fight?" Gir asked once Dib was gone. Zim just went back to his lab.

…

I hope you like the first chapter :) The next will be up soon, it's already mostly done. Isn't Gir cute?


	2. 2 Home

Chapter Two: Home

Dib wandered around the streets. He'd asked everyone he could think of, even a few strangers, and even pleaded with Gaz. No one seemed to let him inside. Dib still had no place to call home. He considered Zim's, and then denied it. As if the alien would let him. He ended up wandering around all night. He decided to just walk to Skool and find a place to stay later.

…

"Please?" Gir cried again.

"No!" Zim yelled back, "ZIM doesn't eat waffles!" To which Gir began to scream his head off. "Fine. Just one." That made Gir happy again and he went off to play with mini-moose.

Zim picked up a waffle and upon seeing that Gir wasn't paying attention anymore put the waffle back down. "Gir!" Zim yelled, "I'm leaving, guard the house!"

Gir jumped into duty mode and saluted, "Yes, sir!" Zim left, hoping nothing would explode while he was gone. As soon as he left, Gir started playing with mini-moose again, throwing it at the oven and breaking the glass on it's front. "Yay!" Gir screamed.

…

The teacher bored the class with her end of instruction speeches yet again this year, only this time, they went a little differently. "Class. This is the last time you will be happy while at Skool." To which everyone wondered when they were ever happy at Skool. "Next year will be your Senior year, the year you graduate and go on to unsuccessful lives doing tedious things that don't matter."

"Like you?" Some kid in the back asked.

"Yes," The teacher answered simply, "Now before you go on to your doomed lives, you have to pick a career. Dib," She said, by chance picking him first, "What career do you wish to be unsuccessful in the rest of your doomed lifespan?"

"A paranormal investigator," Dib said proudly, with stares from the rest of the class.

The teacher sighed, but didn't contest it, not caring what the crazy boy said. "Okay, Zim, what career do you choose?"

"Eh…" Zim was at a loss of what to say, in all the years he'd been on earth he still hadn't exacted what career were. He knew humans were slaves to their own country…in a willing sort of way that perplexed him, but he still couldn't figure it out.

Dib grinned, knowing that Zim had no idea what a career was. Zim actually was doomed in this department, although he probably didn't need a job in the first place. "We'll come back to you. You just better hope you come up with a career or your entire existence will be doomed with doomness," The teacher informed him, then continued on with the other students, all of whom had some sort of hope or dream. Zim couldn't come up with anything though.

Finally the bell called for the end of the Skool day before the teacher remembered to berate Zim for an answer. He ran right out of the room before she could ask again. Dib started to laugh at him then remembered his own situation. He was certain Gaz wouldn't even talk to him now, and there was no one left to ask. Where was he supposed to live now?

…

"Gir…" Zim sighed. There were cakes all over the floor, and Gir hadn't even eaten them.

"They're for mini-moose!" Gir said. Zim looked at mini-moose, who was floating upside down in the air. He didn't think mini-moose was going to eat them.

"Whatever…" Zim said, giving up on making Gir somewhat responsible. He stripped himself of his disguise and went down to the labs via trashcan to research this 'career' thing.

…

Zim researches fruitlessly as Dib walks around town hopelessly in despair. Both have problems that need solutions. And now we turn to Gir, the only happy one in this.

…

Mini-moose sat, for some reason in a dress, at a pink plastic table. Gir sat across from him holding a tea-cup that was cut in half, straight down the middle. It didn't seem to matter to Gir though. He poured tea in it as if it weren't broken. And drank the little bit of tea that puddle in the bottom.

Various cakes and treats littered the table surface. Mini-moose was too afraid to eat any of the treats though, he'd watched Gir making them. The horror…the horror…Gir should never be allowed in a kitchen, mini-moose decided.

That's when Gir started screeching sporadically. Mini-moose hid under the table and wondered what caused Gir to scream this time. "It's the angry monkey show," Gir said calmly, the mechanical tones of his voice dripping from his words. Gir flicked the TV on and sat on the couch. It creeped Mini-moose out…the way Gir stared at the screen, so blank…so evil.

Mini-moose chose that moment to make his escape form the maniacal robot. He began to float away, close to the ground. Something squeezed him tightly. "Bad Mini-moose," Gir scolded and sat Mini-moose next to him on the couch.

After another hour of the monkey show that never seemed to end, the doorbell rang. Gir got up energetically to get it, giving Mini-moose his chance for escape. He flew off, hiding as well as he could.

…

Dib couldn't believe he was actually doing this, especially when he promised himself he wouldn't. Swore against it even. Gir answered the door with his usual hyper innocence. How could anyone hate Gir, he was just adorable. He let Dib in without protest, practically pushing Dib inside. Dib saw a pink table filled with treats and tea and thought Gir was even cuter now. He just wondered where Mini-moose was, it seemed Gir would do this type of thing with him. Dib shrugged it off and went to the trashcan in search of Zim. He knew he'd be in the lab researching career type things.

Again when he entered the lab he heard cursing. Zim was at his computer, trying to understand the English language. It seemed foolish, but Zim still hadn't tackled written English yet, though he could speak it perfectly.

"Need some help?" Dib asked.

Zim turned around in surprise. "Not from you, Dib-stink," Zim said a bit hatefully. Dib thought maybe he was just jealous that Dib already found a career and that he couldn't understand what careers even were.

"Whatever," Dib said simply, not caring. He wondered how he should ask Zim. He realized he should have thought about that before coming, but too late now.

Zim looked over at Dib, who was looking around thoughtfully. "Why are you here?" Zim asked, for once not taunting Dib.

"Uh," Dib finally struck an idea and donned a mournful expression. "Well, see, I was just wondering if you knew someplace I could stay, because I got kicked out," Dib said carefully.

"…no…" Zim said slowly. One antenna raised in suspicion.

"Well…okay…" Dib said, feigning depression. "I would ask to stay here, but I know your greatness wouldn't allow it. I guess I could stay at an orphanage…but who knows who'd spy on me there…" Dib looked over and saw the thought process on Zim's face.

"We wouldn't want that…why not stay here, Dibbers," Zim said with a grin, thinking he'd outsmarted Dib.

"Gee, really?" Dib asked, forcing himself to look happy at the thought of living with his enemy.

"Yes…now, go entertain Gir," Zim commanded. Dib scoffed, but went in search of the little robot. When he found him, Gir was dressing Mini-moose in various dresses, obviously having found the mysterious little moose.

Dib let Gir mess with Mini-moose and sat on the couch and began to watch Mysterious Mysteries. After the initial curiosity of what living with Zim would be like, things seemed calm. Dib watched TV and did homework and his usual things, while Zim stayed mostly in the underground labs. Dib wondered if that was normal, then decided he didn't really care.

As the days went by, Dib realized some things. Zim pretended to be normal, but nothing about his base was normal. He practically had to beg Zim to put in a shower for him, and then found bacon wedged deep into the soap. Gir's doing of course. Dib also had to start doing grocery shopping and laundry. Gir helped him, but how much could the defective little robot really do? Anyway. Dib, to his delight, found it easy to sneak into the labs and place various spy gear throughout Zim's base and then go back to the main level without anyone noticing his actions.

Living inside of Zim's base seemed to be easier than he previously had thought. Zim left him alone, not wanting to be around humans more than he had too, and Gir was quite bearable, if not outright cute.

At least it seemed easy, that is until Zim unexpectedly came up to the main floor for the day. "Zim, what are doing up here?" Dib asked out of sheer curiosity.

"Huh…" Zim said, getting distracted from where he'd been going. He stared at Dib hatefully for a moment. "ZIM does not need to explain anything! This is MY base, stupid earth-worm!" He haughtily stalked away. Dib had forgotten, not having stalked him in quite awhile, how Zim marched everywhere, no matter the occasion. He figured it was one of those deeply ingrained forced habits that most people acquired.

This made Dib wonder how old Zim really was. He knew Zim's appearance had nothing to do with his age. Dib also knew for a fact that Zim had made some sort of steroid to make himself grow as tall as Dib was to fit in with the humans as they grew. So Zim wasn't as short as he was when he first came to Earth. Dib wondered how The Tallest would take that information.

Dib followed Zim into the equipment room, planning to bluntly ask his question. Zim was digging through some box that had been in a pile of boxes. They were probably full of junk that Zim had deemed useless. "Eh…Zim," Dib said, forgetting about what Zim was doing at the moment.

"What?" Zim asked, getting a little annoyed with Dib. It was bad enough that he was in Zim's base at all, but now he was irritating him with his presence, too?

"I was just wondering…how old are you, really?" Dib asked, knowing Irkens didn't age the way humans did.

"Why do you ask, meat-bag?" Zim asked lazily. Even his insult seemed lazy.

"I don't know, I guess it doesn't matter," Dib said, not able to muster up a good excuse to make Zim tell him. He guessed he didn't really care. He was just bored.

Zim turned half-around to look at him. "Then why ask in the first place?" Zim asked, antennae perked up with curiosity. All Dib could do was shrug, he didn't really know why he had asked. Zim just stared at him then turned back to his own business.

"Why are you letting me stay here?" Dib asked. He was pretty certain that there had been absolutely no spying on him since he came to Zim's base. Zim shrugged, almost ignoring the question.

After a few minutes he had come up with an answer. "You distract Gir from ruining my base," Zim said simply. Dib already knew that was true. Gir had been very calm lately, satisfied with someone constantly around the main level.

Dib accepted Zim's answers and stayed quiet, watching the alien. He had to admit, he like seeing the Invader without his disguise on better. He seemed so fake and unrealistic with it on. Zim did things more naturally without the costume constantly annoying him. And the antennae weren't that bad, almost attractive.

Zim turned around to go back to the labs when he spotted Dib staring at him. Zim only raised one antenna in surprise. But he didn't question Dib, just leave to the underground yet again. It made Dib wonder what Zim was doing down there.

…

Zim placed the parts on a bench and went back to his monitor. Why had Dib looked at him that way? What had that look in his eye been? Dib really was acting strange, asking pointless questions. Zim looked back to the monitor, decided that looking for a career thingy was more important than what the Dib was up to.

…

Zim hid just beyond the elevator. Dib stood on the main floor above the elevator. It was strange talking down into a toilet, but Dib ignored it. "Zim, come on. It's the last day of Skool before summer, you can't just not come," Dib called down to him, trying to reason with him.

"ZIM shall not be subjected to the WETNESS!" He yelled from below. Dib was getting frustrated. Sure it was raining, but not very much. Why did it bother Dib so much to know that Zim wasn't going to be at Skool? It wasn't like he cared. It was good if Zim stayed here, so Dib could spy on him more.

"Zim…" Dib said quietly, then his words came out before he could even think about them, "You can stand under my umbrella." This made Zim and Dib both go into silence, thinking about that. Finally Zim came up, disguised and ready.

"Umbrella?" Zim asked. At the prompting, Dib pulled it out. A huge black thing, something he'd managed to get from Gaz once. It was big enough to shelter them both, that way Zim wouldn't just take it from him. "Pfff, fine," Zim scoffed, letting Dib lead him out the door. "I suppose that horrid screeching woman would be displeased if ZIM weren't there," Zim said, almost falling behind.

"Sure, that's exactly it," Dib said, sarcastically. Zim, of course, not catching the sarcasm, just smiled and kept walking. Dib rolled his eyes and made sure that the water dripping from the sides of the umbrella didn't fall on Zim. He couldn't place why he was helping Zim out. It felt like seeing a puppy in a river, it was just wrong to let it drown.

"Hey, Zim," Dib said, dragging Zim out of his own thoughts, causing Zim to glare at him. "Did you ever pick a career?" Zim looked a little surprised, then looked up in thought. He'd been researching for two weeks and still hadn't come up with something.

"ZIM is too mighty for something like that!" Zim declared, almost getting his hands wet by throwing them up.

"Whatever," Dib said, admitting defeat, Zim would never pick something, "Just be prepared for screeching today." Zim looked proud of himself, it being Irken nature to piss people off to no end. In fact…it seemed sort of attractive, the self-absorbed expressions Zim sometimes donned. Dib blushed and looked away, why did he keep thinking things like that?

After a while of walking, Dib looked back over at Zim, who was glaring relentlessly at the water puddles. His hands were stuffed in the pockets of his jeans. Sometime last year, Zim had thrown out the strange space pants he always wore and now opted for black skinny jeans, mostly because they let his boots slid over the fabric.

His shirt hung over his slight frame. Zim was strong, Dib had seen that, but he didn't look it. Dib could never decide though if Zim's shirt was light red or dark pink. His long-sleeved one under it was light pink, he knew that. But Dib ignored it. He wondered warily if Zim's abdomen showed muscles. In the time before he came to earth he must have had to work quite a lot, training to be an Invader.

Dib looked away again, why did he keep thinking about these things? Zim was the enemy…yet he'd been living with him. He hadn't even been checking the tapes for footage of Zim lately. He just assumed that Zim would tell him if he started a new evil plan.

"Dib-stink!" Zim suddenly burst out. Dib flustered, he thought Zim had caught him staring at him.

"Er…Zim…" Dib said, not really sure how to explain himself.

"What is it humans do after basic instruction?" Zim asked.

"Uh…after what?" Dib asked. Why did Zim have to say thing in such a strange way? Zim merely pointed at the Hi Skool down the block. "Oh…I don't know," Dib admitted.

"What will the Dib be doing?" Zim asked, oblivious to Dib's nervousness.

"Uh…I don't know, Zim. That's a year away," Dib explained.

"Phfaa, one mere earth year is nothing," Zim said, acting superior again. Again, Dib wondered how old Zim was. But as they entered the Skool, he didn't have the chance to ask.

The whole Skool day went by quickly. When the teacher found out that Zim hadn't chosen a career, she simply stated, "Well, you're even more doomed than the rest of the world." Zim got an evil glare from her, which made him grin, as he liked making people mad. There had been an interesting part of class, one in which both Zim and Dib shared. "Affection," The teacher spat at them, "is required, or your lives will be doomed."

"Like yours?" Someone asked.

"Yes," She said simply. "Before you graduate and continue on with your _filthy_ lives, you must find someone to show 'affection' towards," The teacher instructed. The class looked around at each other strangely. "Affection can mean love or friendship…or whatever. I don't really care." The bell rang, signifying summer. Unlike most places, no one threw papers or cheered. Skool letting out only meant hot days and miserable weather and doing chores for no reason, but for now, people played in the rain.

…

Zim watched them with a sickness in him. He didn't understand why humans loved _wet_ so much. His home planet Irk was dry and desolate, most of the race living and training on different planets, and the ones on Irk living underground. Wetness never occurred on Irk. Earth was so strange and wet that it made Zim wonder why he'd been ordered to claim it in the first place.

Finally the Dib showed up, umbrella in hand. "Alright, let's go," He said. Usually Zim left before Dib, but today he was in need of the Dib's shelter device. They began to walk, both silent. Zim was thinking about the affection thing. He'd have to look it up later. Could it possibly apply to Irkens? For a while all they heard was rain as they walked back to the base. That was until a certain little monster thing showed up.

Zim's stride had been steady, without a break in rhythm, so as not to fall out of the shelter the handheld device provided. Then something struck his leg, something unseen, causing him to slip onto the pavement. Dib hadn't seen it either and was just as surprised. Zim fell into a huge puddle, water soaking deep into his clothes, the jeans absorbing it up. Zim yelled, it burned his skin. He stood quickly, getting into as much cover as the umbrella could give. He was still smoking, but he ignored it, rather looking for the cause of the incident.

"Idiot," Gaz said, she had her own umbrella, similarly designed to Dib's. Zim remembered that Gaz kicked Dib out of their home and Zim wondered what she was doing in their neighborhood. "Dib…Dad wants to talk to you…" Gaz said, not looking up from whatever game she was playing. Zim was surprised she could hold the shelter device and game thing at the same time.

"Why?" Dib asked. Gaz shrugged and kept on walking. Somehow not falling, even though she was only watching her game and not the road. Dib sighed. "Guess I'll see you later," Dib told Zim, handing him the umbrella. Zim watched as Dib followed Gaz in the other direction. He kept walking to his base where Gir had probably destroyed something again.

Zim sighed, almost wished the sinking human were still there. Why was that, what was Zim feeling…it wasn't anger. Maybe anger at the smaller human, not at the Dib though. Was it the affection thing they'd learned about? Zim considered it, but his skin started to itch in aftermath of the puddle and he hurried on his way. He could think about Dib later.

…

Gaz opened the front door in front of him, almost slamming it in his face. Why would Professor Membrane want to talk to Dib now? As he entered the kitchen he was vastly surprised. He had expected a floating monitor to access him to his father, but he was sitting at the table instead.

"Eh…hi Dad…" Dib greeted. He was still a little mad about his father trying to kill Zim instead of wanting to dissect him, but that had been a few weeks ago.

"Son!" Prof. Membrane belted out, rising from his seat dramatically, as though he had no idea Dib was coming over. "How have you been?"

"Just fine," Dib said, taking a seat at the table as his father sat back down. "What's going on?"

"Dib, my son," Prof. Membrane began, "I think, before, I acted to quickly. I think researching an alien would be extremely beneficial to the scientific community!"

"Uh…okay," Dib said slowly. "But you killed the one I found." He assumed that Prof. Membrane thought Zim was dead.

"Yes…" Prof. Membrane said sadly, "Too bad about that one, it looked promising. I didn't even get a picture or swipe of DNA. I thought perhaps you might have found another alien similar to the last." He looked at his son with hope as Dib took in what his father had said.

"Yeah. I have another one," Dib said.

"Perfect!" Prof. Membrane shouted, delighted that his son had another alien ready for experimenting. Only the scientist didn't that Dib was lying. If he didn't have DNA or any sort of identification, how could he tell the difference between Zim and any other alien? "Bring him to me here," He said, giving Dib an address, "Once you do that, you may once again live here."

Dib noticed that the address was a park. He could probably get Zim to a park. "Would an alien robot be good too?" Dib asked. His father nodded and looked at his with pride.

…

Zim simply couldn't understand this compassion thing. A person feeling bad because another person felt bad. It didn't make any sense to the Invader. Once he found compassion and friendship being related to comrades on a battlefield, Zim began to get it a little more. It seemed to fit with Dib. They almost seemed like comrades now. Zim could refuse to believe it and deny it to the boy…but the human had saved his life. And now Zim sheltered him in his base. He had planned on spying on the human, but figured Dib wouldn't dare try anything while in enemy territory.

He'd been right, Dib was pretty dormant lately. Zim had checked the security cameras set up all around the house and saw that Dib had only been doing silly human things. And what had Zim been doing? Researching more about the humans and their ways.

Dib was smart. If he'd wanted to capture Zim, he would've by now. To Zim, this only meant one thing. It meant that, perhaps, Dib and Zim were friends. What was it like to have a friend? Zim hadn't ever had one. Since his first training, he'd been sent away to Vort, where he'd been mostly isolated. From then on Zim was mostly alone. He wondered if other Irkens had been alone as he was.

Zim suddenly found himself questioning what other Irkens lives were like. Maybe they weren't all about war and taking over. What if other Irkens had compassion, what if they had friends…did they love? Zim started vigorously looking these things up in the computers database, when that failed, he turned to the earth's "internet". He wondered if, maybe, Dib could be a friend of his already…maybe something more than that.

…

Dib readied himself. There was nothing that Zim could say or do that would make him regret doing this. He'd set up a trap with Professor Membrane. All he had to do was lure Zim and Gir to the designated park. The others would do the rest.

As he made his way to the lab, where Zim was without a doubt, he considered what lines he would use. Just as he was about to deicide on some, he bumped into Zim in a corridor. "Eh…Hey Zim," Dib said nervously.

"Hey…" Zim said back. Zim looked nervous too, could he know about the trap?

"How about we go for a walk? It's really nice tonight," Dib offered. Darkness had just fallen; Dib had been at his father's all day plotting the trap. He didn't know what Zim had been up to, but it didn't matter now.

"That's a great idea!" Zim proclaimed, as thought it had been his idea instead. "Let's go!" And he began to march off to the elevator.

"We should take Gir too," Dib insisted. Zim gave him a strange look, but complied. This was going great, they were getting to the park without any trouble, it wasn't even raining now and most of the puddles were gone. Dib noticed how awkward Zim was looking around though. He decided to ignore it, it didn't matter anymore.

"Eh…Dib…thing," Zim said quietly. There was a bit of hesitation to his insult this time. "We're rivals…yes?" He asked. Dib didn't know why he asked, it seemed to be obvious. Dib just nodded. "Yet…we haven't fought for a while…"

"I guess not," Dib admitted. Things between them seemed pretty lax since they starting living together.

"The computer said…" Zim trailed off. He seemed unsure of what he was saying, but decided to go through with it anyway. "It said that rivalries can turn to friendship," He said flatly.

"That's true…sometimes…" Dib said, trying not to let Zim make him feel guilty.

"We seem compatible…" Zim said. He was gaining more confidence in his words. "It seems…we're friends now…"

Dib was a little taken aback by that. He could see that Zim was implying it…but for Zim to actually say it. The seemingly emotionless alien invader bent on world domination…was actually trying to make friends with the paranormal researcher leading him into a trap, who'd been hunting him for several years. "Well…I wouldn't know…I've never had a friend," Dib said, only saying it to avoid this conversation, and also because it was true.

"Neither has Zim…" he said quietly. It was surprising for Zim to talk in third person without yelling, like he usually did. It made Dib wonder about him. Did Zim doubt something about himself? What was the Irken tradition when it came to friendship? Zim seemed a little out of his right mind most of the time…maybe that was why he'd been cast away to earth. Maybe normal Irkens had friends and cherished life…while Zim had become damaged somehow. But now he was trying to be friends with Dib. What could he do?

"Sure, Zim…we're friends," Dib said, letting Zim have that little bit of comfort. Zim had a soft smile the rest of the way to the park.

"Awww!" Gir belted out. Gir was far different from Zim in so many ways. Otherwise though, Gir just chased squirrels the rest of the way, it made him seem more like a dog.

Finally they arrived and Dib relaxed a little, the deed was done. He almost called it an evil deed, but it wasn't evil at all, it was purely science.

"Why are we at a park?" Zim asked. He was finally questioning Dib's reasoning for coming here so late.

"It's just a nice park…" Dib said, looking for the sign. He saw it…a white bird. He practically dragged Zim over to a bench where the white bird was. Zim didn't mind too much…he was just curious as to what Dib's goal in this was. Gir simply came and sat between them on the ground.

Dib could tell Zim was about to ask what was going on, but before he could even voice a thought, a heavy net and cloth fell over him from above. A scientist came over with a box and upon asking, Gir happily jumped in the box. Zim yelled and struggled, but the scientists that came out of hiding made him stop. Finally Professor Membrane himself appeared. He smiled at Dib.

"Good job, son," He congratulated. He handed a house key to Dib. Dib smiled and accepted the praise. But in his mind he was just hoped that the containments were thick enough that Zim couldn't hear them. Despite how much he prepared himself for this, he still felt some regret of it. The first willing friend he'd ever had and he just turned him over to the worst possible people.

Was has Dib done…?

Yeah Dib? Just kidding. I've had a certain song stuck in my head for this whole chapter, I used the main line from the song, bet you can't guess what the song was :P

I'll definetly update soon.  
Well, maybe. My birthday's tomorrow, so I might not get to write any :/


	3. 3 Broken

Chapter Three: Broken

Warning: Doctor Who involved (9th generation, cuz I lovez him)  
If you haven't seen Doctor Who, all you need to know is that there isn't much to know about the dude, he's always mysterious.

Zim stared up at the ceiling. He couldn't feel his body at all. He kind of wondered why that was, but he lost track of his thought. The humans had pumped all sorts of things into him and now he couldn't keep things straight in his mind. Where was Gir, did that even matter?

What about Dib? Had he been hurt in the ambush? Did that matter either? It did…or not. Zim couldn't decide. Dib was the enemy…or was he a friend? If Dib was the enemy he would have been the one to plan the attack…if he'd planned the attack, then he would have let Zim know it was him afterward. So Dib was a friend? Yes…Zim hadn't seen him yet, so Dib was friendly.

The armada…were they coming? Zim's pak had been forcibly removed, which would send a distress signal to The Tallest…but there was no armada yet. It did take a long time to get to earth, Zim had to admit, but still… Zim felt alone again…like when he was on Vort, or when he'd been banished. All these years, Zim at least had Dib, his enemy, to plot against and fight off. Without Dib…or The Tallest…without with home Irk, Zim felt more alone than he had in a long time.

Someone came over to the cold, metal table Zim was on. He closed his eyes. He didn't want to see what the humans did. He wished he could activate his self-destruct button, but he couldn't move. Maybe Dib would come…they were friends now…right?

…

Dib was finding it harder to fill his time. After all the years of desperately searching for proof that Zim was real, he realized he never made time for much else. There was the TV show he loved to watch. And he used to go out and search for Sasquatch and other things. But suddenly he found that he didn't have the energy to do so. All he did was lie around the house, sometimes playing games with Gaz.

Without Zim around to spy on…Dib's life almost seemed empty. It was strange…when Zim first appeared on earth, Dib would have been proud of capturing him. He would have stood above Zim and taunted him. Now he couldn't even let Zim know that he was the one who trapped him. Why was that…? Was Zim right, were they friends now? But friends didn't do those things to each other. Friends didn't turn each other over to mad scientists.

Dib started walking, he wasn't sure where, but he felt there was something that needed to be done. The base was cold and lonely with Gir running around. Dib walked in, half-expecting to see Gir with a tray of muffins, or cakes, or something equally surprising, considering Gir was a robot. Dib wandered down through the labs. All the machines were still running. The gentle hum reminded Dib even more of what he did. Did Zim know it was him? What did Zim think about him now? It had been a few weeks since he turned Zim in. Dib was already moved into his house, but he wanted to take a last look around. He had never really taken the time to explore the underground part of Zim's base. It was huge.

Dib stopped in front of a certain computer monitor and looked at it. Friendship. Is that what Zim had been thinking about constantly? Friendship? Dib looked through the rest of the files that were open. Zim had been thinking a lot about human emotions. There were even some Irken files open that were in a language Dib couldn't understand. But he guessed they were about the same things. Maybe Zim was comparing human relationships to Irken ones.

Dibs thoughts were interrupted by a loud noise somewhere on the other side of the base. It was loud, Dib noticed as he ran to it, and it sounded like a pulsing alarm. It almost sounded like high winds, pulsing in and out. Suddenly they stopped as Dib reached the underground equipment room. It was strange. Dib was sure he'd been in this room before but…he'd never noticed a huge blue box there before. On top was a strange light, and the top of the door said "Police Public Call Box". Dib was about to open the door when it opened and a strange man appeared.

The man had super short hair, a leather jacket and a look of extreme curiosity about him. After him came a cute, excited blonde. She seemed bouncy and practically attached to the man's arm. "Hey, who are you?" Dib asked, a bit of hostility in his voice. This was Zim's Irken base after all, Dib should be the only one able to get in.

"Oh, hello," The man greeted, very friendly. He had a Scottish accent. "My name's The Doctor, this here's Rose," He said, referring to the bubbly blonde. "Who might you be? Not that's it's my business to know of course."

"Er…I'm Dib," He introduced, "And how'd you get here anyway? Does that thing have a vortex creator?"

The Doctor looked surprised that Dib asked that, "Well, not exactly, but sort of, but not at all. Does that answer your question?"

"Eh…" Dib looked at the box, it looked quite small, but couldn't figure out how it got there.

"By the way…is this Irken?" The Doctor asked. "Simply fantastic!"

"Oh, Irken…what's that?" Rose asked beside him, revealing her British accent. The Doctor quickly brought out a laser pointer looking object and started pointing it at things. When he pushed a button it made an electronic noise while lighting up.

"Just an ancient civilization on the planet Irk, they mostly try to take over the universe. I had a run in with an Irken once, he tried to steal my Tardis, then tried to blow it up," He explained rapidly. "By the way, the Irkens hate any race other than their own," He turned to Dib, "You don't look tortured or experimented on, and you're definitely not Irken…so how did you come to be in an Irken Invasion Base?" The man looked at him strangely and Rose seemed amazed by the whole Irken thing.

"Well…the Irken who lived here…was captured," Dib said, trying to keep guilt from his voice.

"Ahhh," Rose said in understanding. The Doctor mirrored her. "So that's where the distress signal came from," The girl reasoned what Dib assumed The Doctor already knew. Zim…a distress signal? Like he would ever send one, unless it was unintentional.

"Yes," The Doctor said. He started walking away, down the hall. Dib watched him go, looking at the strange box. He decided it was some sort of alien technology that he didn't need to know about.

Dib thought about following them, but they already knew Zim was gone, so he didn't bother. He didn't care what they did in Zim's base. They didn't seem evil. They looked human. So Dib went back up to sit on the couch again.

…

Again…Zim didn't know what was going on. He just knew he was being left alone for the moment. Whether he was laying down or standing up he couldn't tell. All he knew was that his wrists were restrained far apart on either side of him, so his self-destruct button was unreachable. How long had it been? Hours…days…years? Who knew? The armada still hadn't come…when would they?

Zim looked down, or maybe it was up, and saw that he had what he assumed to be a vivisection scar. Wasn't that what Dib had always ranted about giving Zim? Well there it was now…the Y shaped scar traveling down his body. His advanced Irken skin had quickly healed the cuts…he knew that much, so the vivisection had to have been recent.

He really wished Dib would show up already. Somehow, through all the ins and outs of consciousness, he'd decided that Dib was his friend, that the armada wasn't coming, and that he depended on Dib to free him. How much longer would Zim have to wait for Dib to come?

…

Dib was on the couch when The Doctor and Rose found their way up to the main level of the base. "So!" The Doctor said loudly. "Where is the little Irken being held?"

"I'unno, why?" Dib asked lazily.

"Well, when I get distress signals…I tend to act on them, silly human," The Doctor said as Rose laughed.

"I don't think that was the Irken," Dib told him.

"What? Why would you think that?" Rose asked. The Doctor simply stared at Dib with a confused expression.

"Zim isn't the type to ask for help…ever," Dib explained. A wave a recognition fell on The Doctor's face.

"Oooohhhh," The Doctor exhaled. He looked a bit overwhelmed. He walked around in a circle, thinking for a minute before he just plopped onto the couch by Dib. Rose came to sit on the couch arm by the mysterious man. "That one…"

"Yeah," Dib agreed, understanding completely. This man must have met Zim before for him to act like this.

"I mean…if it had been any other Irken…" The Doctor said to himself.

"But it's Zim…maniacal, unpredictable, hostile, and sometimes…understanding…Zim," Dib said, thinking about their somewhat friendship.

"Understanding?" The Doctor asked.

"Yeah…" Dib said, his eyes softening, suddenly very guilty for what he'd done. Rose looked over at him and she wilted.

"Give us a minute," She whispered to The Doctor. He looked at her questioningly, but left into the kitchen. "Hey there," Rose said softly. She sat next to him. "Look…I know what it's like…"

"Oh yeah?" Dib asked, doubting she'd ever been in this situation.

"Yeah, I know it's hard…but it'll get better. I mean…you're family will get over it…and soon it'll get really fun too. I mean, flying around in space with an alien is pretty cool, eh?" Rose said, it seemed to brighten Dib up a bit, but not lessen his guilt at all. "So everything's gonna get better, okay. It always is when you fall in love with an alien," Rose said, blushing over at The Doctor, who hadn't heard a single word of it. But it made Dib gag the second he heard it.

"What?" He whispered, "Love?"

"Yeah…aren't you..?" Rose stumbled, realizing where she misspoke.

"No!" He whispered frantically. Friends maybe but…seriously? Never, not with Zim, even if he weren't an alien.

"Oh…" Rose said, blushing like made and embarrassed. The Doctor, sensing the awkwardness, came over to intervene.

"Hey, Rose, why don't you go fetch us some fish and chips, hm?" The Doctor asked, sitting back down next to a blushing Dib.

"Yeah, sure," Rose said, leaving the house.

"Sorry about that…" He apologized.

"'t's okay," Dib said simply, though he was still blushing.

"So…Zim…" The Doctor said. He sighed unexpectedly. "Zim…Zim…Zim, Zimmy, Zim Zim…"

"Yeah…" Dib said back. He knew the strange man understood how things could be confusing when Zim was involved, Zim was a confusing person.

"Are you enemies with him?" The Doctor asked. Dib looked over, but the man was simply staring ahead, not really looking at anything. He seemed to be concentrating on his thoughts.

"I'm not sure…" Dib said. The Doctor chuckled a little, understanding.

"Most of life really is in the gray area, isn't it…" The Doctor commented.

"Yeah…I was his enemy…Then, right as I was getting him into my trap…he wanted to be friends with me. So we're friends yet…" Dib trailed off, not knowing what to say. "He's the only friend I ever had…" Dib said after a few minutes.

"An Irken…friends with a human…no. An Irken being friends with any race other than his own…that's impossible," The Doctor said, a grin beginning to grow. "Are you sure he really, really was sure he wanted to befriend you?"

"Well, he let me live in his base for a few weeks, because I was homeless," Dib explained. The he explained all that had happened between his Dad nearly killing Zim, and Dib betraying him to the scientists.

"Fantastic!" The Doctor jumped up. "Irkens are famous for not trusting anyone! If Zim, a creature who is very sadly out of his right mind, then there's still hope for the lot of them!"

"What if it's being out of his right mind that makes Zim able to be friends with humans?" Dib asked.

"Well then," The Doctor said, "There's hope for him, at least."

"And what do you mean, Zim's not in his right head?" Dib asked.

"Oh, don't tell me you haven't noticed?" The Doctor exclaimed, obviously not wanted to explain anything more.

"Well…Zim is pretty weird but…" Dib didn't see how Zim was insane or anything. Sure he wanted to destroy earth, but that was just his mission.

"You don't know Irkens…do you?" The Doctor asked, suddenly very grave. He stood by the opposite wall, next to the TV.

"Uh…no, I guess not…" Dib admitted. The Doctor looked away.

"An Irken is never alone…" The Doctor told him. Which didn't make sense, Zim had been on earth for years by himself. "Irkens work in a hive fashion. Likes bees. Where you find one Irken, you find many. All Irkens know this…like a wolf pack, they depend on each other and stay with each other always. The only Irken who wouldn't know about this…is Zim…"

"What…Why? He's Irken," Dib asked. He'd always wondered how Irken society was, it was interesting to hear that they all lived like a pack, closely-nit.

"He's Irken, and considers himself Irken," The Doctor said, "But the Control Brains running Irk noticed that he was different from other Irkens, he was more destructive. I think it could've been handled better, but they did the worse thing they could do."

"What…what did they do?" Dib asked, on the edge of his seat.

"When Zim was young…not even through with training, the Control Brains took him and isolated him on planet Vort to work in Military Science. Zim was there for a long time…building by himself. Bloody nearly blew up the planet too. Irkens are supposed to always be near others of their kind…I think something in Zim broke when that happened. He was never really right after that…" The Doctor said quietly. "Then the banishing… Irken leaders can be so stupid."

Dib didn't know what to say, if anything his guilt rose. Now he knew why The Tallest had abandoned Zim here, why they didn't want him back. They thought Zim was insane…just like everyone thought Dib was insane. They really were the same. "I gave Zim up to the scientists who wanted to cut him open…" Dib said, adding himself to the list of dumb people. He looked down at the floor, Zim's floor, too ashamed to look up.

"Well, then, let's go get em!" The Doctor said. He seemed happy and energetic all of a sudden. Rose chose that moment to walk in the door, miffed about not finding a place for fish and chips.

Then Dib recognized The Doctor, he couldn't believe he hadn't realized it earlier. He'd read so many online articles about a man who called himself the Doctor. He traveled space and time in his ship called the Tardis, the blue box, which was bigger on the inside than the outside. He went around fixing things with his sonic screwdriver, the thing he pointed at walls. It could unlock doors and do all sorts of things. A young girl often accompanied him. In this case, Rose. Oh, one more thing. He was a Time Lord, an alien. Dib felt a bit of hope knowing such and acclaimed person was going to be helping him.

"Yeah, let's go get Zim," Dib said, smiling once again. Rose caught on and grinned at The Doctor.

…

It was dark now. It was night. Or maybe it was day. Was it Zim that was dark? He couldn't tell and didn't bother to find out. Each day without his pak was torture. He had less and less energy to go on without the pak to supply him with electric energy. He knew he'd just stop soon. The stupid humans hadn't figured out that he needed the pak. A few hours without it…he was fine, but more than a day, he was tired. A month…near death.

Zim wondered vaguely if the human-Dib would find him before then. Probably not. It seemed to get darker then…and Zim faded out of consciousness again.

…

It was easy to get into the place where Zim was. Dib's father worked there and The Doctor's sonic screwdriver could open all the locked doors for them without setting off alarms. Dib easily found his way to the room where Zim was held. The Doctor and Rose set off to set an escape route as Dib went in to get Zim.

Dib remembered the time, long ago, when Zim created an illusionary world, a simulation to see if Dib really had thrown a muffin at Zim. He'd allowed himself to be captured, and when Dib came to see him in containment, Zim had taunted him with promises of the armada. Dib expected him to react the same way this time around.

The room was dark and cold. Zim was at the back, but dib couldn't see him properly just yet. He could see the cords wrapping around Zim though, not as many as in the illusion. His pak was gone and strangely nothing replaced it. Didn't the scientists know that it was his source of energy? Everywhere on Zim's body there was some sort of instrument to watch Zim's functions. A lot of it was technology Dib had never seen before, that his father had kept from him.

Dib readied himself for taunts and denial, as he got closer to Zim. Finally just a foot away from him, Dib could see that Zim was looking at the opposite wall, away from Dib. "Cozy Zim?" Dib teased lightly, trying to get Zim to taunt him back. Zim didn't say anything, he just kept staring at the wall.

After a moment or two, Zim closed his eyes. "They're not coming…are they…" Zim said quietly. It was unusual for Zim to be so silent. And his voice sounded cracked, broken, like he was sick or something. What he said wasn't even a question, it was more like a statement of defeat.

"Who…the armada?" Dib asked, remembering his conversation with The Tallest. Zim gave what looked like a small nod. "…no…" Dib whispered. Zim seemed to have already accepted the fact that no one was coming for him, that no one ever was. "What are Invaders trained to do in this situation..?" Dib asked curiously.

"We're supposed to self-destruct before this situation _can_ happen…" Zim said. It seemed to have used up a lot of strength to say. Self-destruct…? That was pretty drastic. Of course now earth held some secrets of the Irkens, so self-destructing to keep your race's secrets…maybe it wasn't so crazy.

"Oh…" was all Dib said. What was he supposed to say? He felt sort of sorry for the Irken before him, but he would never actually say that to him.

"This technology…it's Irken…" Zim said. Dib looked at the technology and had a realization.

"Oh…where do you think they got it from?" Dib asked, knowing full well where it had come from, and feeling ashamed of himself for it.

"Tak…she hates me," Zim said, simply put, "She must have given it to them."

"Yeah," Dib agreed, knowing Zim was wrong, but not wanting to point it out. "I wonder what The Tallest think of you now…" Dib said mostly to himself. He could just see them laughing.

Zim just shrugged, or gave what looked to be a shrug. There were too many wires for him to move much. That made Dib want to cry at last. He wanted Zim to start mouthing off in third person about his greatness, about how The Tallest favor him the most, about how humans were smelly and the Irkens were great. But all Zim could do was shrug, he was really that defeated.

"I'm sorry…" Dib said at last. He really was sorry, this had all been his fault. Of course, if he hadn't done anything, Zim would have destroyed earth. But this was too much. Zim being tied down and tortured in this hellhole. Irkens could live much longer than humans, Dib knew. So Zim could be down here for centuries. It was too much for Dib to take. Even his mortal enemy didn't deserve this fate, let alone someone who'd just become his friend.

Zim didn't reply to his apology or even acknowledge it. He just looked up at the ceiling, the same ceiling he must have been looking at this whole time. "I knew you'd come…" Zim said simply.

"What?" Dib asked.

"I knew you'd come get me…we're friends now…remember. And if anyone's going to capture me…it's you…" Zim said weakly. He glanced at Dib and gave a small smile.

Dib found his statement somewhat comforting. "Come on Zim, we're busting out of here." Zim smiled.

When the Doctor finally came back to the place where they'd split up, Dib had one arm around Zim, holding him up. Zim had already tried, and failed, to stand up on his own, finally submitting to let Dib help him. Dib had Gir hanging on his back, hyper as ever and unaffected. But Dib was making sure the little time-bomb of a robot was keeping Zim's pak safe.

"Ah, Zim. You're taller," The Doctor noted. Zim just eyes him warily. It could have been the drugs, but it looked like Zim didn't recognize The Doctor. In either case, The Doctor led them down a corridor where Rose stood by a door, which they hurried to.

As Dib helped Zim, he could help but notice how slim yet muscled Zim was without his uniform shirt on. As he looked closer, he saw the remnants of a vivisection scar. It was fading quickly. In another few weeks it would be gone, but Dib saw it, having always wanted to slice Zim open himself. He felt bad about those thoughts now.

…(time change, not pov change)

Once put back in his lab, Zim fixed his pak and let it hook back onto him. Dib was amazed that, in his state, he could do that. Once it was on his back again, a huge electric charge went from the pak to Zim. It freaked Dib out but Zim sighed in relief. The pak got rid of all the toxins the scientists had put in Zim and he looked around at the people in his base with a focused mind.

"Why are all these HUMANS IN ZIM'S BASE?" Zim demanded to know. Dib just tried to be invisible, he was allowed there after all.

"Look, green man," The Doctor confronted, pointing at Zim, "You tried to steal my Tardis and I just saved your life, you had better be grateful."

Zim just looked confused. "Hmm?" He couldn't remember this man from anywhere, and he'd never heard of a 'Tardis'.

"Don't you remember?" The Doctor prodded, only to get confusion. The strange man from the box seemed angry now. "It was back on Vort, remember. Big blue box, time traveling, you tried to steal it?" A quick little flash of recognition showed on Zim's face only to be replaced with faux confusion.

"I have no idea what you're talking about…" Zim played along, "Is said _Tardis_ here? Maybe if I see it…"

"Oh no you don't," The Doctor scolded. "I knew you remembered. You aren't going to steal it again!"

"Hey…" Rose said, beside Dib.

"Hey…" Dib said back.

"He's always like that, isn't he?" Rose asked, uncaringly, knowing the answer.

"It's in ZIM'S BASE, so it belongs to ZIM!" Zim yelled loudly.

"Yeah…pretty much…" Dib answered. They went on arguing for a few minutes.

"How old is Zim?" Rose asked curiously.

"Dunno…. How old is The Doctor?" He asked back.

"Dunno…" She said. They watched some more. "Which do you think is older?" They went on arguing as Dib compared their debating.

"No idea," Dib answered.

"Me neither…" Rose replied. Both The Doctor and Zim were using terms and sometimes languages that neither Dib nor Rose knew of. It was confusing. When they finally came to an agreement, it wasn't even really an agreement. More like a truce not to blow each other up.

Then the two left, with the same strange noises following the ship as it disappeared into nothing. Probably to another time, or to another place. Zim watched as he realized something and turned to Dib. "Who were those people?"

Dib nearly fell to the floor. "You argued with that guy about the Tardis for what, forty-five minutes straight…and you have no idea who he even was?" Dib couldn't believe it, was the recognition faked too?

"Not really…" Zim said simply, then upon Dib staring him down he explained more, "If this person thought that there was something good enough for ZIM to steal it…and it was in my base…it should rightfully belong to me…"

"How'd you know it was in the base…?" Dib asked.

"It was in the base?" Zim asked. Honestly confused.

… … … … … … … …

Don't you just love Zim?  
Lols. Love you guys for reviewing ;) Definetly more to come.


	4. Irken

Chapter Four: Irken

The Dib was on the couch, sleeping. The TV made a glare across his glasses. Gir had left it on the angry monkey show again, only now Zim had it muted. Dib was sleeping on his couch…and for some reason he didn't mind. He knew he should be angry, but Dib had done so much now…even Zim couldn't deny that Dib had saved him twice now.

Dib looked so comfortable, which was strange. Zim was used to Dib being tense around him, of course Dib didn't know Zim was there. He was so relaxed, Zim just wanted to touch him…it made his `spooch warm…though he didn't know why. Humans seemed innocent, though primitive. The way they clung to each other, how they mated and had smeets. Zim thought it was strange how they came to make them, so unlike the genetic engineering involved in the birth of Irken smeets.

Zim wondered if Dib would have smeets. Was it male or female who delivered earth smeets? Zim couldn't remember, he never cared about it much. Zim poked Dib in the head lightly, humans slept for a very long time. Zim didn't need to, because of his pak, thus why he was crouched before Dib, still poking him in the head. His head wasn't really so big. Zim didn't know why everyone said it was.

Zim sniffed Dib's arm, he didn't stink as much as he used to. Zim had almost gotten used to the suffocating odor of humans, and Dib had some of Zim's Irken odor rubbed onto him from staying in his base. Overall, Dib smelled quite alright. Zim liked Dib's smell, he wanted to bury himself in the intoxicating scent.

What was he thinking? Zim was Irken, Dib was human, thoughts like that were wrong…weren't they? Zim didn't know anymore. He had never really learned these sorts of things on his own planet…and now with a different species. He left suddenly, almost waking up Dib. He went back to his labs. How in the world he would find out what was right…?

…

Dib didn't know why he was still staying at Zim's. He could probably move back into his house again if he wanted. He didn't have the heart to tell Zim he was leaving, he guessed. He was sitting at the table in Zim's kitchen, staring out the window. His cereal was going uneaten, the orange juice only slightly emptied. They hadn't talked much since the whole kidnapping thing. Zim getting kidnapped and then Dib kidnapping him back.

One morning, Dib will never forget, it had been quiet, Gir was gone to a taco stand or something. Dib was at the table, still exhausted and angry at being woken up so early. Zim was standing near his elevator. "Zim owes you two lives," Zim said uneasily. Dib didn't respond, he was too tired to think about what he meant. But when Dib wasn't looking, Zim had said something else. It was odd and Dib could still hear it perfectly in his mind. "Thank you," He said quietly. Dib had snapped awake only to see that Zim was already gone, down the elevator. Zim never said such things…to Irkens it was weak. It meant a lot to Dib that he said that.

Dib had been feeling good the rest of that day, until he realized the other part of what he said. 'Two lives'. Dib had saved Zim twice, which was why he said thank you. But Zim didn't know that it was Dib's fault those exact two times that he needed saving in the first place. Dib felt horrible now, which was why he wasn't eating. How could he? He promised not to do things like that anymore, he'd have to be more careful about what he did now. Dib used to hate Zim…What happened to change that? Why was Dib suddenly more conscious of how he treated Zim now? Oh yeah…Zim actually did something human…

Just as he was thinking that Zim was going to be more bearable from now on, something struck him in the head. "There, you big-headed HUMAN!" Zim yelled form the doorway. Dib picked up the bag of chips Zim had thrown and stood up.

"Zim, these are 'salt and vinegar'…what the heck kind of flavor is that?" Dib asked.

"You think I know?" Zim asked, a little offended, "Gir picked out everything." He pointed at the robot in question. Still in disguise as a green dog, with a zipper showing, Gir delivered the groceries on the table. "If you wanna be picky then specify," Zim ordered harshly, tossing Dib's list onto the table.

Dib started looking through the bags, thankfully most of the items he'd wanted weren't too variable. He did notice something though. "Why is there so much taco stuff?" Dib asked in pure curiosity. Zim raised an eyebrow and looked to Gir.

"I neeeed tacos. I need them or I'll explode. That happens to me sometimes," Gir said, shedding his dog outfit. Zim took his off too, Dib knew it was uncomfortable. He felt a bit sorry for him, having to wear it everyday.

"Dib HUMAN! Why do you stare at ZIM!" Zim yelled, throwing down his disguise.

"Well, why do _you_ have to yell so much?" Dib asked in return, half because he was annoyed and half because he honestly wondered.

Zim was about to yell something then but seemed unable to think of _what_ to yell. So he just scoffed and said he'd be downstairs. Dib watched him go, anger pretty much steaming off Zim's shoulders. It was somewhat attractive when Zim pouted like that. Then Dib realized it was a green, irritable alien he was looking at. Just before the elevator lowered past Dib's view, he saw Zim look back with a somewhat disappointed, depressed gaze. Like Zim longed for something but knew he couldn't have it. Dib vaguely wondered if that something was him. What a self-centered, unrealistic thought. Dib tried to erase every thought of Zim from his mind as he put groceries away. He failed.

…

Zim sat at his computer, head in his hands. Why _did_ he yell all the time? Dib _was_ staring at him, but did that call for loudness? He looked at his monitor again, the Irken text as puzzling as last time. It wasn't deciphering it that was puzzling, but what it meant. Whatever Irken it was that had described emotion had done a pitiful job of it.

Zim had gone on the Earthen Internet source thingy and searched long and hard for descriptions of emotions. Then Zim found a secret network connecting most of the universe together through Internet. He found this fascinating, though disappointed Irk wasn't included in the connection. It figured though, why would Irk connect to other useless planets they would just overtake anyway? So Zim searched through this network as well, finding a web site that just could help.

It was called YahooAnswersUniverse. He found this funny, considering it didn't include all of the universe in it's hookups. But he looked through it anyway. It was a site where any race or species could simply type a question and other users would answer them. It seemed like such an easy solution, so Zim decided to try it, typing in a question at light speed after having made an account and such. He grinned as answers began to pop up.

…

Dib sat at his own computer he'd set up in the kitchen. He finally cracked the code to have full access to the universal connection. The connection that tied the universe together. The web sites were all written in various languages, but it didn't bother Dib. He had just installed a translator to the computer to make any language appear in English. It worked, and in just a moment all the text was replaced with readable plain English.

He found all the paranormal sites he could, it was amazing what all these species were telling about themselves. It was undeniable proof that aliens existed. But he decided to keep it to himself, he knew by now that when he found something, if he tried to show it someone, it would just get ruined the second he brought it out. Something familiar struck him on the database, a website he knew. YahooAnswersUniverse. There was a universe version? This was strange, but Dib looked through it anyway, curious as to what aliens would ask. He read various questions, answering a few he knew. One struck him as familiar as he read it. It was from IrknInvdr

"My question, strange creatures, is this: A human boy is constantly staring at me. He's saved my life twice now and lives in my base. How would I go about showing affection for him? I already thanked him, but we still argue at every chance. He calls me a jerk, but how can I make that change? I am Irken, these concepts of emotions are strange to me. I shout a lot, as is normal for Irken society. But this seems to enrage the human, he doesn't see Irken concepts and expects me to act like him, human. I would like to be closer to him, but it doesn't seem right…him being human, and I Irken."

Dib thought about this, it was a familiar situation, but he ignored it and replied anyway. "I don't know Irken ways, but maybe not yelling and getting mad as much would be good, humans don't tend to like yelling much. Just be calm and remember that he doesn't understand your different culture, just like you don't understand his, try to understand why he does things the way he does them, be sympathetic. Maybe it'll come to you."

…

Zim sat and read the answers from various people. "Irken and human unite! Peace bro!" This made Zim mad, it wasn't even an answer. "Irkens and humans don't belong together, kill the dude." This was no help either, it did nothing to answer the question at hand. Did these people not understand the concept of answering a question? Apparently not. He read a few more ignorant answers, almost giving up, when he saw a longer answer. It was posted by a Spec93. Zim read it, contemplating what species the user was. "Be sympathetic…" Zim read aloud. The advice did seem good. The message said nothing of love or of human and Irkens uniting. It pleased Zim.

Dib's culture really was different from Zim's. Then in a way it wasn't. Humans were left to their own devices and doom themselves, unlike Irkens. And they had wars with other humans, which was likewise stupid. But humans functioned much in the same way Irkens did. It was strange to outline the similarities and differences. Zim decided he would take the time to familiarize himself with human culture and know more about Dib. He also took it upon himself to redefine the terms in his computer's database.

…

Dib used his brand new translator and computer hacking skills to hack into Zim's database. He found the files he'd seen on Zim's screen before. Scrawled Irken text flashed onto the laptop screen. In an instant it translated. The first thing on the file was a definition. "Attraction: When two creatures of the same species feel it is their necessary obligation to their race to mate and produce offspring. It is time-consuming and inefficient and thus not of the Irken ways." Dib couldn't even properly put into words how wrong the definition was. Then he noticed a new entry below it. "Attraction: The feeling of being drawn towards another individual for reasons unexplainable." Dib wondered if Zim wrote that. He had to have. But why was Zim doing this? He seemed to be becoming more human everyday. Maybe he was finally getting what humans thought.

This made Dib even more guilty. Zim was becoming human and growing a heart, while Dib was becoming dark and heartless. Something had to be done. Zim had to know what Dib had done. He decided to go down to Zim's labs for once and confess. Zim was at his computer, when Dib walked in he minimized whatever he was doing and looked at Dib.

Dib just stood there awkwardly. "Z-Zim, I have something you need to hear…" He said quietly.

"Uh-huh," Zim said, prodding him to go on. Zim didn't seem mad that Dib had come down without permission, just curious.

"Well…you know when…when my Dad came here and a-almost killed you?" Dib started shakily. He didn't know if he could go on like this. How would Zim react, would he start yelling and throwing things? Dib deserved that…he deserved all that Zim could do. Zim nodded, wanting Dib to keep talking. "Well…that was…it was kind of…my fault…" Dib admitted finally. He closed his eyes, waiting for Zim's wrath.

"Really?" Zim asked. Dib looked to see that Zim hadn't moved, just cocked his head to the side. Dib nodded nervously. "Why'd you help me?" Zim asked. Silence answered him. Dib was confused by his reaction, it wasn't what he expected.

"I-I don't know…I wanted to keep you alive…for you know…experimenting…" Dib said. "But why aren't you mad?" He asked like Zim was crazy, which he probably was.

Zim shrugged. "We were enemies then. I would have done the same you know." Zim gave a small smile to show he wasn't at all mad.

"Oh…You mean…try to kill me?" Dib asked, scratching the back of his head.

"Well yeah. But I mean the other part too…saving you," Zim said, getting a little uncomfortable.

"Oh…" Dib whispered. He never knew Zim could be quite for so long in a conversation. "But…the other day…well, a week ago, remember those guys who took you? Who cut you open and all?" Zim winced but nodded. He looked down, knowing where this was going. "Well…that was-"

"Don't…" Zim interrupted. This time when he interrupted he didn't yell. Rather, Dib barely heard him.

"But Zim, it-"

"I know…I already knew…" Zim said, surprising Dib. "I don't care…we're friends right now…" Dib was surprised that the Irken said that. It must have taken a lot for him to forgive something like that, such a betrayal. "We were still enemies…sort of. So it doesn't matter now. You already made up for it anyway."

Dib winced, but he could understand what he was saying. Dib doomed him twice, yet saved him both times. "So we're even…" Dib stated.

"Yup," The Irken said lightly. Dib thought about it, and thought about leaving it alone, but they were wrong, they weren't even yet.

"There's one more thing, Zim," Dib whispered.

"Hm?" Zim looked up at Dib in curiosity, Zim must have been wondering what else Dib had done.

"Zim…your leaders…they…" Dib stopped, how could he do this Zim. He had to.

"The Tallest?" Zim said. He sat up straight and his antennae perked up. "What about them?"

Dib shifted awkwardly. "It's easier if I show you…" Dib sighed. He pulled a hidden electronic box out of some corner of the room. When Dib had kept the Tallest from ending their transmission, Dib had also recorded their conversation. He had it all on tap. And he was about to show Zim. He plugged it in and stood behind Zim as the clip began.

Zim started watching happily, seeing his beloved leaders on his screen. But his happy expression soon dropped into confusion as he watched his leaders spill the truth. When the transmission finally ended the Irken looked down, antennae flattened against his head. Dib felt sorry for him, his leaders had thrown him away and Zim hadn't even know. All the sarcasm that Zim usually ignored was obvious in the recording. Dib wondered if Zim was okay, he wasn't moving or talking.

"Zim?" He finally asked, about to reach out to his friend.

"Why?" Zim asked in a shaky, hallow voice. Dib was about to say something when Zim interrupted him again. "Why would you fake The Almighty Tallest this way?"

Dib could tell by his voice that Zim knew his leaders didn't want him, but denial is a hard thing to shake away. "Zim, it's not faked. That was real…"

"It wasn't…" Zim denied. He put his head in his hands, as if trying to keep all his thoughts inside. "They would never say that…Zim is needed…they _need_ Zim."

"I'm sorry…but they don't…" Dib said, trying to bring Zim out of denial.

"Get out…" Zim hissed lowly. When Dib refused to leave Zim whipped around. His eyes were wet. "GET OUT!" Zim yelled. Dib complied now, but only because Zim looked like he was about to attack him.

…

What was Zim supposed to think about this? Why had the Dib shown this to him? What did it mean? He doubted anyone using the answer site would be able to tell him. Did this mean no one needed him? Yes. Well…Gir needed him, but he was a mindless, non-functional robot. Did Dib need him? No, Dib wanted to explore his base. He was using Zim. The Tallest had tossed him out of Irk to die. It was shameful. Zim was just trash. He wasn't great like he always claimed to be. Not even his own people wanted him. Similar to Dib…he was kicked out of his home and his parental unit was destructive of what Dib worked for. They were more alike than Zim had realized before.

Zim remembered something from the clip. If he returned to Irk, an armada would destroy earth. Zim's mission would be complete, even if the Tallest would probably banish him again anyway. Even worse, they could dump him on an uninhabited planet without a way off. He'd be stuck. But would it be worth it, to complete his one mission from his Tallest? If he stayed on earth, the Tallest would never know that Zim found out their secret. Zim would be banished to earth with no purpose. That wasn't an option. Then something struck him, an idea. It was perfect, he just had to get to his ship soon enough.

…

Dib waited by the Voot Cruiser. It was fixed and he worried that Zim would try to go somewhere, maybe even to Irk. As much as Dib felt sorry for him, he wouldn't let Zim do that and destroy earth. He had to keep Zim here, on earth.

Just as Dib thought, he came Zim, stalking in. Zim looked mad, as he did most of the time. "Out of my way, human," Zim said coldly.

"Where are you going?" Dib asked, returning the cold.

"None of your business, meat-stink," Zim hissed. Getting closer.

"I can't let you go, Zim, I can't let you go back to Irk," Dib ordered.

Zim cackled loudly and coldly. "What makes you think I'm going _there_?" Zim asked.

"I just assumed-"

"Well, don't," Zim ordered.

"Where are you going if it isn't Irk?" Dib asked, curiosity deep in his voice.

"I don't know, the pit of a sun maybe," Zim admitted. He had planned on not telling Dib, but why not, it didn't matter anymore.

"Zim…you can't…" Dib said, aghast that Zim would even consider it.

"I can't stay here…can't go home…where else?" Zim asked, squinting at the human before him, blocking his way.

"Stay here…where you belong…" Dib said, his voice growing softer. Dib didn't mean to drive Zim to this. A month or so ago he would have been outrageously happy about it, but now he was just outraged. He wouldn't let Zim commit suicide this way, not because of Dib…or for any other reason either. Zim scoffed at him.

"I _belong_ here?" He asked. "Tell me, Dib, see anyone else with green skin? Do you see any other Irkens here?"

"No…but come on, everyone is a little different," Dib said.

"True…but I'm more than different," Zim said. He crossed his arms. He sounded like he was about to drop dead from torture. Could Dib really have caused this? No…he realized, it was The Tallest's fault.

"Zim…" Dib ran out of words to stop him. "Please, don't do this. Stay here," Dib pleaded, looking at him with sympathy in his eyes.

"Give Zim one reason to stay…" Zim said, not saying if he'd stay if there was a reason, simply demanding a reason.

Dib thought hard about that. Thought about something that might convince Zim not to go and die. "Zim I…I need you here…" Dib admitted. He was admitting it to himself and to Zim. He hadn't realized it, but there it was, and it was true. If Zim were gone, what would Dib do then?

"You need my base, my Irken equipment. No one needs Zim…" He said sadly, gazing off at a wall, a far away expression on his face.

"No…when you're base is empty…so am I…I don't need your base…or your equipment. I could care less what race you are, or what species…I _need_ you…" Dib choked out, he was near-tears now with realizing so much. Dib wasn't really heartless at all, and neither was Zim. They were both alone…but when they were around each other, neither was alone anymore. He didn't know if this small admittance was enough to keep Zim grounded to earth, so he just stepped away from the cruiser and looked away at the ground, letting Zim leave if he chose.

There was silence for a moment as Zim stood still. Suddenly Dib felt Zim move a little. "Zim needs Dib too…" Then he heard Zim walking away, back to the base. Dib looked up and saw Zim leaving. Dib really had said enough, Zim really understood what he said. And he'd returned the favor. Zim needed him. Someone actually needed Dib for once. That fact alone was enough to keep Dib grounded to his spot. Eventually he just leaned back against the cruiser and sank to the ground, he was emotionally exhausted. Tears fell as he felt relieved, Zim was still here. He knew the truth and he wasn't at all mad at Dib.

...-...-...-

:) So sorry, I've been away from computer access :0. It's been terrible, but I'm back! Yay!  
I feel this could have been longer, but meh, this was such a good place to end it.  
More to come soon, Love you guys ;)


	5. Disguise

Chapter Five: Disguise.  
Warning: Mushiness

Zim was in the lab as usual. Dib wondered what he did down there all the time. But he decided he'd just ask later. He sat on the couch, nachos in hand, to watch some strange movie with Gir. Why did Gir go rent movies all the time? This, too, was unanswerable. It was called Hellraisers, it was sort of freaky, but after all the years in Dib's town, it wasn't quite enough to freak him out. Gir was shaking on the floor though.

After the movie was over Dib thought he'd take it back to the mall. He knew Gir wouldn't, he'd keep the movie for months, watching over and over. "Zim!" Dib yelled, not sure if Zim would hear him. He went down to the lab, "Zim…I'm going to the mall," He called. He walked in to see Zim at his computer. His was playing Space Invader, ironically. "You wanna come?" Dib asked. He didn't know if the game was research or boredom, but he figured Zim needed to go outside at least once in a while.

"Sure…" Zim droned. He got up lazily, letting the game continue. Dib watched as the little green space ships conquered the world of Atari. He didn't know if Zim meant to do this or not. But he put on his disguise and followed Dib out.

"Bye Gir," Dib waved as he walked out. Gir was rolling around on the floor again.

"Defective robot…" Zim mumbled.

"He's not defective," Dib defended. He personally thought Gir was adorable. "He's just…" He failed for words.

"Advanced…?" Zim asked, staring at him.

"No…different," Dib said. Hopefully going out would raise Zim's mood, Dib couldn't deal with the sulking much more.

"Hmm," Zim looked down and thought about that as they continued walking to the mall. Dib would have to get a car, walking everywhere was getting tiresome. They finally got there, conversation having been averted. Dib turned the movie into the slot and looked around.

"Might as well do some shopping while we're here," Dib suggested. Zim just shrugged and followed Dib around to stores. Zim was being very compliant today; Dib thought that was just a little strange. But he kept shopping anyway. He got several computer parts that Zim glanced at and ignored. Finally Dib was done and they were walking across the mall.

"Hey, Dib-thing…" Zim said, poking Dib in the arm, "Where would Zim acquire normal human clothes…?" Dib looked at him.

"You've been here how many years, and you don't know?" Dib asked. Zim glared at him, Dib knew he was going to yell. He prepared for it.

"Just tell Zim," He hissed instead. Dib was impressed. This was the quietest and best behaved Zim had been in…ever. Something had to be wrong. Dib pointed to a clothing store nearby and let Zim drag him over.

"Okay, Zim…just don't get too expensive," Dib warned, "If we spend too much my dad will know I'm still using his credit card." Zim just nodded and looked at all the racks of clothes. Dib was thankful they weren't in a full store, just a department. Sure, it was more on the expensive side. But hey, at least there were less choices, which meant less questions directed at Dib.

"Eh…what do I do?" Zim asked. He stood by the clothes a little dumbstruck.

"What do you mean?" Dib asked. It should be obvious how to shop for clothes.

"You have clothes…" Zim pointed out.

"Everyone has clothes," Dib told him, "Everyone buys their own clothes. Don't Irkens?"

Zim seemed to blush a little. "No. Our uniforms are assigned to us…this is an Invaders uniform," He said, pointing to the striped shirt he always wore. Dib had to admit, that was a really good point. How could someone shop when they've never done it before?

Dib sighed and went to help Zim. Zim was already wearing skinny jeans, but admitted that Gir had gotten them. Dib decided to change Zim's uniform all over. No more boots or pink stripes. Zim came out of the changing stall in frayed blue jeans, brown v-neck shirt and a blue-ish plaid jacket that had the fake, scraggly, fur hood. Zim's pack was showing over the shirt, but the jacket was big enough that it slid right over it. Zim kept his gloves on, under the jacket, but he kept them because they covered his Irken hands well. And Dib doubted any store made three fingered gloves. They went to another store and got Zim black converse shoes.

On the walk home, Dib couldn't help but stare at Zim. He looked better now, more human. Best of all, Zim's shirt no longer looked like a dress. It made Dib smile, him wearing human clothes like that. Zim was just staring off into the red sky. Dib wondered why the sky was always red. "Why do you stare at Zim?" Zim asked, gazing softly at Dib. Zim had asked in a calm, almost soft voice.

"Eh…" Dib had nothing he could avoid the question with, Zim wasn't yelling or causing any trouble this time. "Why have you been so quiet and calm? I mean…that's so unlike you." Zim kept his gaze there, staring like he didn't know that Dib was talking about, then he grinned. Yup, something was definitely wrong. Zim looked off into the distance again and Dib didn't think he would say anything.

"I reprogrammed my pak to give out less electricity…" Zim answered, smiling like an idiot. Which he was an idiot.

"WHAT?" Dib yelled, nearly dropping his computer parts. Zim gave him a curious look.

"What?" Zim asked innocently, seeing nothing wrong with it.

"Zim…y-you can't do that…" Dib said, not knowing how to make the alien understand. "I mean…yeah, you seemed more human today but…that's not how you solve this…"

"Really? How then?" Zim asked. Dib knew if he had more energy, Zim would throw a tantrum, or at least defend himself.

"Well…first, talk about things before you do them," Dib ordered, hoping it would stick in Zim's brain.

"Why?" He asked.

"Why?" Dib echoed, "So I know what you're doing…So I know you're okay."

"Why?" Zim asked, getting annoying. He didn't realize the why thing was annoying, he was just curious. So Dib calmed himself down so he could explain things.

"Zim…doing that stuff doesn't solve anything, you should have told me, so then maybe I could have helped," Dib explained.

"But…You said Zim is normal today," Zim debated.

"Yeah but…that's not how people get normal," Dib sighed, wanting to hit Zim in the head. "Just tell me before you do these things…"

"Why?" Zim asked again.

"Because I CARE ZIM!" Dib yelled. Zim winced. Dib felt bad about yelling, but his point had to be made.

"'K," Zim said, looking down. Zim still didn't understand, but maybe he would. Limiting your energy just to appear normal was just wrong. Zim had to work out his problems and appear normal by himself. Dib was relieved that Zim agreed to tell him though. "Zim has to tell you everything?" Zim asked.

"Yeah," Dib answered. He didn't have to share everything, but saying yes was easier than explaining that.

"…you know Tak's holograph projector?" Zim asked, looking down at the ground. Dib nodded, remembering Tak's technology well. "Zim stole it…I've been working on it…" Zim admitted.

"Oh…that's…good," Dib said slowly. Zim had been working on a new disguise. That was good. It explained why he wanted new clothes. Maybe, also to get rid of the Irken uniform, after having learned their secret. "Let's watch TV when we get back…" Dib said, wanting to keep an eye on Zim for a while. Who knew what Zim was capable of like this.

Zim just shrugged, "'K," he said. He seemed to have forgotten their past conversation. Dib sighed mentally and wondered which Zim was better, the energy-deprived one who seemed unresponsive, or the one that yelled at everything but still had his sweet moments. Who knew…

"AHHHH!" Gir yelled when they got back. "Master…where'd you go?" Gir asked.

"Heh," Zim laughed, "Right here Gir…" Zim waved at the little robot who sighed and decided to make muffins. Dib laughed, Zim seemed easier to get along with like this. They sat on the couch and turned the channel to something other than the angry monkey show for once. They watched the science fiction channel, seeing strange looking aliens explode, being shot down by humans. Dib thought Zim might yell at the TV, in fact wanted him to, the show was getting a lot of facts about space wrong. But Zim just sat there and laughed softly at the demise of the poor, ugly-looking, aliens.

"Doesn't that make you mad?" Dib asked.

Zim shrugged. "Why should it?" He asked.

"They're getting everything wrong. Something so small can't do something like that," Dib said, exasperated. Zim shrugged and continued watching. Either Zim didn't really care, or he was too loopy to care. Maybe this Zim wasn't the best one. Dib missed making fun of space shows with him. Zim knew more and could point out even more improbabilities than Dib could, but like this he didn't even notice them.

"I'm going downstairs," Zim said suddenly, walking off. Even with his minimal amount of energy, Zim still had that march when he walked. Dib just guessed it was an old habit, being from a military based society and all.

"Hey, Zim," Dib decided that now was the time to ask, Zim turned around and watched Dib, "How old are you…really?"

Zim grinned. "Two hundred and seventeen," he said happily, then made his way back to his lab. The walking thing was definitely a habit.

…

"What do you want?" Gaz nearly screamed at him. She was playing her game while answering the door. Dib wasn't surprised by the yelling nor the game.

"Gaz…I'm worried about Zim…" Dib admitted to his sister.

"So?" She scoffed, "Like I care about your stupid boyfriend."

"Gaz! He's not my-"

"You live with him…he's so your boyfriend. What do want?" She asked again.

"He was playing Space Invader. Space Invader! Sure it has the word invader…but do you know what happens in that game?" He asked her.

"Go away…" Gaz said in a bored-as-hell-tone.

"AND he ditched his uniform…he threw it away! While we were still at the store!" Dip told her.

"So…?" Gaz asked.

Dib sighed, knowing he'd have to pull out the big guns. "Gaz. There's a brand new, unreleased, un-televised Game Slave 5. It's compatible with all previous games and even has free wi-fi, and internet capabilities. It has communication abilities and even has a cup-holder," Dib said plainly. He watched Gaz drool and drop her current game, which is something she's never done.

"G-give….to….ME!" She yelled, half-angry he would keep this secret from her, and half-excited that there was such a game. Dib had been saving this little jewel for quite a while. He wondered if now was the right time to use it…well, this was Zim.

"All you have to do to get the game…" Gaz drooled and had to keep herself from attacking Dib. "…is talk to me about Zim."

"W-what do you mean…? Talk, talk about what? About Zim, what about Zim?" Gaz asked very quickly, slurring a lot.

"I told you, I'm worried about Zim. Calm down and talk with me like a normal sister would," Dib told her. She managed to calm down somewhat and pick her game back up.

"You mad me lose level 98," Gaz informed him. Dib smiled, Gaz wasn't going to like conversation, but at least she was complying. They went to the kitchen and sat at the table. Dib re-told her what he was worried about. "Space Invader…? And no uniform…? And he's doing what?" Gaz asked.

"Making a holograph projector, for a better disguise…like Tak had," Dib explained. Dib had already told her about the Irkens dumping Zim on earth just to get rid of him, Gaz wasn't very surprised.

"Seems like he doesn't want to be Irken anymore…" Gaz mumbled, pressing the buttons on her game harder.

"Yeah…Why do think that is?" Dib asked. Gaz paused her game…actually PAUSED it, for the first time ever that Dib had seen and Gaz looked up to glare at him in questioning.

"Are you serous? You can't figure that out?" Gaz asked, annoyed with her brother's stupidity

"Zim's always been proud of being Irken…ranting about being the best one and being the Tallest's favorite and everything," Dib said, remembering the yelling and standing on desks.

"Yeah but this, Dib…? Seriously, I hate both of you, but you should be able to figure this out. Imagine if all of earth dumped you on an alien planet and made you think you had a purpose, a sole purpose, made you think we loved you, made you think you were a hero, and then all of that got taken away and you were left stranded on a planet where everyone thought you were a freak and you had no one…and you couldn't even go home because you knew they'd just send you somewhere else…" Gaz said sadistically, her hands on the table and glaring at Dib.

"That…that would suck…" Dib said. He was surprised by her sudden speech.

"It's something I always wanted to do to you…but you know…you're my brother…" Gaz said, turning back to her game, "You've got family Dib. Put yourself in Zim's position…would you wanna be human anymore, if that happened to you?" Dib stared at his sister, she had just shown a huge amount of sympathy for Zim, of course he knew that would all go away in a matter of minutes, but for the moment it was nice to know she had somewhat of a heart.

"I guess I wouldn't…" Dib answered.

"He just wants to be human because _you're_ human, idiot…you're the only one who can actually stand to be around him. That's why he stayed. He sees that you're kind…and you're human, so he wants to be human too," Gaz said, further amazing Dib.

"Wow Gaz…um…yeah, you're right. What in the hell made you say that?" He asked in awe. "I thought you were a heartless demon…"

"I am… And I. Want. That. Game," Gaz said, looking up from her game, staring daggers at dib, "Give. To. Me."

"I will, I will…it's at the base okay," Dib said, trying to calm her. She went back to playing.

"Do you like Zim?" Gaz asked.

"Obviously…he's a friend now, Gaz. That's why I'm here, talking to you," Dib said, as if Gaz hadn't been paying attention.

"No, stupid, I mean like-like," Gaz explained in her own way.

"Urm," Dib sat and thought about what she could have meant, "Oh! Hey! You're the one that said boyfriend, and he's not-"

"You're voice makes my ears bleed. Do you like him or what…I mean, you used to try and kill him, now you wanna save him or whatever, what the heck do you want?" Gaz asked.

"What I want…" Dib echoed. Gaz nodded. Dib had doomed him, then saved him, then doomed him, then saved him again.

"Geez, you need to get your priorities straight…" She told him.

"I just…wanna be friends…" Dib said.

"Doesn't seem like it. Friends don't live together…" Gaz pointed out. "You can come back if you want, but you still live there. Friends don't buy each other clothes or save their lives…you do more than what friends do…"

"Look, drop it okay," Dib said, this wasn't what he'd come here for. He'd figure this all out later on.

"Pfff, fine," Gaz grumbled. They started to walk to the base. Gaz only coming for the game she'd earned. "You're a huge idiot…" She randomly insulted, "No making out while I'm there."

Dib sighed, his sister could be so blunt. On the walk there, they didn't talk or look at each other. Occasional beeps and flashes of color came from Gaz's game, but nothing more. Outside the door to Zim's base, Dib tried once more to talk to Gaz. "I don't know…" He tried to remember everything Gaz had told him, "I'm still worried." Gaz glared at him until he opened the door and they walked in. Dib was speechless. Gaz wondered what Dib was so quite about and looked up from her game. A grin spread on her face.

"I wouldn't be so worried, idiot," Gaz sneered at Dib.

Before them was Zim wearing his brand new human clothes, he was standing in front of the TV, watching some guy talk about the Mayans and how aliens could have started their race and culture. It seemed normal, but Zim was different. It wasn't that he was actually paying attention to something and ignoring the fact that Dib and Gaz had walked in.

Zim's skin was pale white, ivory in fact. His hair was black, like always, but it was more spiky in the front and looked touchable and real. His eyes were brilliant blue and more human like. He also had a strange metal necklace around his neck. He even appeared to have all five fingers now. Overall, Zim looked completely normal and human.

"You know, it's not impossible," Zim said, remote in hand as he muted the TV and looked towards the siblings.

"W-what?" Dib asked. Zim pointed at the TV.

"Aliens…coming to earth and starting a civilization…" Zim said. "Saw it happen once on a different planet…"

"Oh…" Dib stuttered.

Gaz, sensing the awkwardness, decided to intervene. "Zim…you're not green," She pointed out, since Dib seemed unable to. Zim grinned proudly. Even his teeth weren't pointed anymore.

"Yeah…I fixed the projector," Zim stated as he fingered the necklace he wore. So the necklace was the projector.

"You…you look human…" Dib said quietly.

"Don't I?" Zim said proudly.

"Yes," Gaz said, "Game…"

Zim looked confused but Dib reached behind the couch and pulled out an unopened box and handed it over to Gaz. She ripped it open, having thrown her current game behind her, and started pushing buttons all over the new game. She sat on the couch in concentration.

Dib took Zim by his arm and dragged him down to the labs. "I like it, Zim," Dib commented.

"Yeah…me too," Zim whispered. Dib noticed how smooth Zim's neck looked. In a moment of infatuation and desire he pushed his lips against Zim skin. Zim looked flustered and blushed. "W-what's this..?" Zim asked.

"Shh," Dib told him. He put his arms around Zim. The alien snaked his around Dib too, wondering what to do.

"Is this a…friend thing…?" Zim asked, wanting to know if this was normal.

"No, but we're not really friends anymore, are we?" Dib said, trying to imply something, but Zim didn't get it. So Dib kissed him, right on his mouth. Zim was cool to the touch and smelled like machinery, Dib liked it. Zim complied to Dib's kissing with his own, even going so far as to grope. Dib vaguely hoped Gaz wouldn't come down, but she was busy with her new game and knew she'd be stuck with it for hours.

Dib rubbed his head into Zim's chest, their arms still around the other. "We aren't friends?" Zim asked.

"No Zim…we're more than that…" Dib said, a little breathless. Zim looked at him quizzically. "Zim…you know what you refer to as 'pig mate'?" Dib asked. Zim nodded. "I'm your pig mate…" Zim grinned.

"You're mine…I own you," Zim said. Of course Zim had to narrow everything down to ownership. But Dib didn't argue, Zim could own him forever.

...-...-  
I'm not good at the mushy love scenes. :( Oh well, tell me what you think anyway  
The next one will be way better :)


	6. Rose

Chapter Six: Rose  
Warnings: uh...creepy ghostiness?

Zim, not having anything to do, had been laying around the house a lot lately. Dib noticed that all Zim did was sit on the couch and watch TV with Gir. Most summers, Zim would plot against the world and Dib would stop him…they couldn't do that this summer, so both were having trouble occupying their time. Dib decided that some of his research had gotten a little abused over the years.

It was time to find a ghost. "Come on, Zim," Dib said, kicking Zim in the leg.

"What? Why do you kick me!" Zim demanded.

"Time to get off your butt!" Dib yelled back. "We're going hunting for the haunted!"

"Why?" Zim asked. He looked perplexed. Dib couldn't help but think it was cute.

"Because, I'm a paranormal researcher…and I'm gonna find a ghost!" Dib declared.

"Pfff…" Zim said with a wave of his hand. He leaned over on the couch to see the TV past Dib.

"Zim!" Dib yelled, he turned the TV off, "Listen, just come, I bet you'll like it."

"Fine, if it'll get you to leave me alone," Zim said, getting up. He took the projector out of his pocket and slid it on, his human features reappearing. Dib handed him a thermal camera. "What's this?"

"It detects heat. Ghosts don't emit any heat, so we'll see the cold spots with that," Dib explained. Zim played with it and didn't ask anything else. Dib got his back and was about to walk out.

"Do we need Gir?" Zim asked. The Gir in question was playing with mini-moose in the corner.

"Uh, seriously? No," Dib said. Zim shrugged and followed him out the door. "We're headed to an old abandoned house outside of town," Dib informed him.

"Then why not take the voot cruiser?" Zim asked.

"Because, it's not that far…and everyone would see us," Dib said. Zim just scoffed and kept toying with the camera. Even in the dark night, Zim looked more human than ever. Dib couldn't help but walk a little closer, Zim didn't notice, he was busy with the camera. If anyone saw them on the street, no one would know, it was too dark.

"You're staring again," Zim mumbled.

Dib coughed and moved a little away. How did Zim see, he wasn't even looking. "No I'm not," Dib denied.

Zim glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, "Yes, you _were_," He said more strongly.

"Was not," Dib said childishly. He could feel heat growing next to him.

"You WERE!" Zim yelled. He clutched the camera tightly. "WHY! Just tell me, WHY!"

"Eh…I guess I can't deny it anymore…" Dib sighed. Zim stared at him hatefully, waiting for an explanation. Dib made a note never to lie to Zim. "I eh….like you hair…" Dib said, making excuses.

"YOU LIE!" Zim yelled again. He was right, but Dib didn't want to admit that he didn't know why he stared at Zim all the time.

"Uh…hey, a dog…" Dib said, hoping to distract Zim from his tyranny. Zim looked forward to the sidewalk. He stopped. There was a Chihuahua standing in the middle of the sidewalk. It had a leash, but no one was there to hold it. Dib thought about going over to see if the dog was okay, but he looked at Zim. Zim had this crazy look in his eye, like there was about to be all out war. Of course, Zim _was_ crazy, but this was a way insane look.

Suddenly determination took grasp of Zim as he grabbed Dib's arm and started running off through the brush next to them, through hedges and other people's yards. "Zim…WHAT THE HELL!" Dib yelled, hoping he'd reach Zim ears…er, antennae.

"It's evil, we have to get away from it!" Zim yelled back. Dib had to struggle to keep up with Zim. In these situations, Zim's Irken training kicked in, making him run a bit faster than Dib.

"Zim…slow down!" Dib yelled. Finally they turned onto a street and stopped behind a brick wall that served as a fence for someone's yard. Dib sucked in air, he hadn't been out running in a while.

"W-what the hell, Zim?" Dib panted. The Irken was crouched on his feet, his right arm, which still held the camera, keeping him balance against the wall. He was glanced back where they'd come from precariously. He wasn't breathing very hard at all, like it was just a stroll to him. Dib noticed his other hand, the left one, was still clutched onto Dib's arm. Dib never wanted Zim to let go.

"I don't think it followed us…" Zim whispered.

"Of course not, it's just a dog!" Dib said breathlessly. Zim glanced at him.

"Earth dogs are very vicious, Dib…remember?" Zim asked. Dib forgot…Zim had a phobia of dogs. Well, more like every time Zim saw a dog, it attacked him, who knew why.

"Oh…yeah…" Dib sighed. He forgot now what they'd been fighting about…he forgot when they started running from the dog.

"Is that the house?" Zim asked, pointing to the house in front of them. Dib looked and for sure, it was there. A huge mansion type house. It was said that the house kept growing, and no one ever found a true number for the number of rooms. Unlike most houses like that, the number didn't go up and down, it only went up. There was a huge front yard and a tall gate in front.

"Uh-huh," Dib answered. Zim let go of Dib and stood up.

"It's…big…" Zim breathed. He stood in front of it, gaping at it.

"Uh-huh," Dib agreed. The house had many rumors and even a bloody past. He hoped nothing like that happened tonight. If it did, well, Zim was a bold Irken, nothing bad would happen with him around. Then again, Zim was a very unlucky Irken. Dib shuddered to think what could happen in that house.

…

Dib laid out several pieces of equipment on the floor around them. Zim watched, not knowing what anything did, but he still held onto the camera, his one duty. Getting into the house had been a bit hard. Not as hard as training on other planets had been, but it was one of the harder challenges he'd experienced on earth. He'd had to help the Dib over the high fence. Then it was difficult getting through the overgrown grass to the front door. Zim had protected his thermal camera valiantly, though Dib had fallen a couple of times, tripping in some hole or other, silly human. When they finally got to the front door, it swung open, strangely.

The door opening on it's own freaked Dib out some, but Zim thought the house computer was simply being hospitable. Better than his own computer, he thought irritably. "Okay, Zim, turn the camera on," Dib instructed. They were in the main parlor. Dib said some stupid human had shot himself here. Zim toyed with the camera, finally getting an image to come on its little screen. "Remember, blue spots are cold…cold spots are where ghosts are, okay?" Dib said.

"Yeah, yeah," Zim waved off. Dib had glared at him, but continued on.

"We should go look through the house," Dib suggested. "I have…somewhat of a map."

He handed the map to Zim, but it made no sense to him. There were tons of little boxes and rectangles. As soon as Dib realized that Zim couldn't read maps to save his life, he took it back. "We'll go through the kitchen first."

"Why?" Zim asked, knowing the word 'why' pissed Dib off to no end. He saw Dib shudder.

"Because it's close," Dib answered. "Come on." Zim followed him, if only to see where he was headed. The kitchen wasn't very exciting, just a lot of dusk and empty bottles. The greenhouse connected to the kitchen was better though. Dead vines and plants everywhere. It was like everything was in grayscale. "I heard this was the house owner's favorite room…the greenhouse…" Dib whispered.

"Everything's dead," Zim said, louder than Dib.

"Shh!" Dib whispered at him frantically. "We don't want to disturb the spirits!" Zim didn't get what he meant by that, how could talking disturb 'spirits'? Zim just nodded, pretending he understood. Dib had been doing this his whole, short, human life, he must know what 'spirits' liked and disliked. They started to venture out into a hallway. It had striped walls and the lights didn't work. Dib pulled out flashlights and handed one to Zim, taking one for himself.

"Stick close together, people tend to get lost in here," Dib warned him. "A team of paranormal researchers came here a long time ago…only a couple of them made it out alive."

"Too bad for them…" Zim said nonchalantly, looking around at the paintings on the walls.

"Yeah, and for us…" Dib said, "Anyway. This house was scheduled for demolition…they were going to build a mall or college or something over it, but everyone that came here after that went missing. Eventually they gave it up as a lost cause…"

"Why are we here then?" Zim asked, not trying to annoy this time, just honestly wanting to know.

"We're here to find out why those people went missing and to prove that there are ghosts here…it's a wonder that no one's proved it yet…with this house here and all…" Dib explained.

"But…won't we just go missing too?" Zim asked, suddenly making a lot of sense for once. Must have been a brain fart, as human often say.

"Eh…no?" Dib suddenly stopped. He sounded very unsure of himself.

"I guess…if we stay together…?" Zim said.

"Y-yeah…" Dib said nervously. They kept walking and turned a corner. Zim felt something eerie behind him and turned around.

"Uh…uhm…Dib?" Zim called. Dib mumbled something but turned around to face Zim.

"Holy…" Dib whispered. The back passage they'd come from was gone. There was a huge undecorated brick wall where the corridor had come from. It was as if someone behind them built a wall in the mere second they'd passed the space.

"I-is that…normal?" Zim asked. He really thought it wasn't, but it's always safe to ask.

"No, Zim, it's not…" Dib confirmed. Zim turned right around, grabbed Dib's arm and kept walking. "Wait…shouldn't we find out how that happened?" Dib asked, foolishly. Silly human.

"No. This house is the enemy…we have to stay together," Zim barked at him. Dib seemed to blush, but pulled something else from his pocket.

"Here," Dib said, he clipped one end of a rope to the belt loop of Zim's pants, clipping the other end to his own pants. "This will help…I heard the last group did it."

Zim let go of Dib and fingered the rope. He wondered how well the rope would keep them together. They kept walking down the hall, trying not to let the house scare them. After a while, a thought occurred to Zim. If the brick wall was where they came from now, how would they get back to the kitchen?

"Hey…there're the bedrooms…" Dib said quietly, pointing off to the side. Dib and Zim wandered in one, it looked like a hotel room. Dib drifted to one side, looking at things. Zim looked to the closet/wardrobe thing. It was huge. He vaguely wondered if humans liked those things really big. He looked inside, there was a long mirror inside of it. He glanced at the clothes hanging, they seemed old and dusty.

Suddenly, something caught his eye in the mirror, something bright yellow. He looked at the mirror and saw Dib standing behind him. He turned around, Dib was wearing all black, like always, nothing yellow at all. "Find anything?" Dib asked. Zim looked to the camera in his hands, he shook his head, no cold spots. Dib made 'hmm'ing noises then suggested they move on. Zim followed him, wanting to be away from whatever made that reflection in the mirror.

They walked through a hallway that made Zim's head spin. All the furniture was on the ceiling, and the lights were on the floor, sticking upward somehow. "The house owner loved making trick rooms to entertain her guests." Zim agreed with whoever this human woman was, the rooms were very entertaining.

They went from the strange hallways to a glass ballroom. The floor was a complete mirror. It was strange and reminded Zim of water. Dib was captivated by it, leaning down to touch the icy surface. Zim just wanted to be away from the water like room. "This room is supposed to be where a man hung himself. He did it in front of children…it was so sad…" Dib said quietly. Zim snickered to himself.

"Why would anyone do that? It's probably a lie…" Zim said.

"I think it's true…that he hung himself, I mean, there were pictures," Dib said.

"But why would one end his own life, that's just stupid…" Zim said, sneering at Dib.

"Zim…it is stupid…but sometimes humans…" Dib looked at Zim's grin then faltered. "You know what, never mind…" Dib sighed. Zim chuckled, he won, he always won.

Dib walked to the middle of the room, Zim thought it looked creepy to see Dib standing there. It looked like the water was going to swallow him up. Slowly, Dib started to disappear beneath the surface of the water. Zim panicked and tried to run over to get him out when water started to burn Zim's legs. It pulled at him like goo, keeping him from moving, but Zim struggled against the slimy, silvery gunk sticking to him. Dib's head disappeared from view, below the surface of the slick water.

"Zim?" Dib echoed beside him. Zim turned to see Dib, not wet or anything, completely fine.

"Huh?" Zim breathed dreamily. What just happened? Didn't Dib just die? Zim looked at his legs, they weren't captured in the slick, shiny water anymore. He wasn't burning now, but wasn't he just about to drown with Dib?

"I think the room is messing with your pak or something…you totally zoned out just now," Dib told him.

"Oh…" Zim said unsteadily. The house had made him imagine that. He wouldn't tell Dib what he saw, not ever. Dib started to walk to the center of the room. It was like de ja vu. "D-dib…I think we should leave this room…it's eerie…" Zim said quietly, wishing for once Dib would listen without questioning. Dib glanced over with questions in his eyes, but he saw Zim's desperate look and just decided to go along with him.

They found themselves in some sort of room. They walked around it a bit before hearing a small whining sound. Zim turned around. It was Gaz… "Hey," He called to Dib. Dib turned around to look. He just stood there, shocked. Gaz was on the floor, a puddle of blood around her mid-section. She looked at them and cried softly. She reached a hand out to them.

"P-please…help me…?" she whimpered quietly. Dib twitched for a moment before grinning.

"Nice try, _house_. But Gaz would never end up like that," He called out to the room around them. It may be heartless to say something like that, but Gaz was too tough to let something like house bring her down.

"Gaz really _is_ scary…" Zim admitted.

"Y-yeah…" Dib agreed. He stopped grinning at remembrance of what Gaz could do. "You know…this is actually a comforting scene," he said. Just as he said that, the bleeding Gaz disappeared. Zim chuckled softly.

They left the mysterious room, walking down another hall. For such a big house there were a lot of hallways. Somehow they ended up in an attic, even though they never once climbed a flight of stairs. Strange house computer, Zim thought. The attic was strange, there were lots of paintings and boxes, everything was old and dust covered, of course. Then they saw the window. A huge stained glass window. It was like a tower.

"This place is weird," Dib whispered.

"Uh-huh," Zim agreed. He looked down at the camera he held again. It was pointed at the window. There was a huge, human shaped, blue splotch on the screen. "D-dib…" He whispered. A chill went up his spine.

"What?" Dib said. He looked at Zim, who was pointing at the screen. Dib looked and saw the blue spot. The spot moved all of a sudden. It looked like it was lifting an arm above it's head. "W-what's it doing…?" Dib managed to ask. Fear gripped him, Zim could tell. They squished together, peering down at the small camera screen.

"I don't know…" Zim whispered. The blue spot was covered with red, like the ghost disappeared.

"That was…weird…" Dib choked out.

"Uh-huh," Zim said.

They wandered again, finding a flight of stairs that lead down. When did they go up? So they went down and ended up back in the parlor where they'd set out. Zim found it odd, as he was sure Dib did. Dib had Zim help carry the equipment to the living room where a nice fireplace took most of the attention. There were a couple of couches and chairs laying around. Everything looked so…posh, Zim heard that on the TV once, it described this place exactly, posh.

"This place is really huge…" Dib sighed. He yawned. Zim wondered if it was that time of night when humans slept. Dib un-clicked the rope that held them together "I think we'll run some tests here, then continue to explore the rooms upstairs. Zim nodded, not really caring either way. He watched Dib laying out the equipment in different places all around the room. Zim noticed that the walls were lined in bookcases…so much information all in one place. And there was a dollhouse in the wall. It looked pretty creepy to him. Dib finally fixed all the devices up and sat on the couch opposite of Zim, settling a laptop on his lap and clicking buttons for a while.

Zim watched, not quite staring, as Dib's eyes steadily grew heavy. Zim kept a watch on his own camera, moving it around to view the rest of the room. No cold spots yet. Finally Dib's eyes closed and his hands grew still, he was asleep now. Zim felt like poking him again. How long were humans supposed to sleep? Could Zim sleep too? It wasn't something Zim did, but maybe he could program his pak to let him sleep. Hmm. It might be nice to sleep with Dib…maybe just once.

Zim though about getting up and snuggling close to Dib, who knew how long the human would be asleep for, and no cameras were directed that way, Dib wouldn't know. But no, that would be wrong. Zim controlled himself, keeping clasped onto the camera. Everything was a sea of orange, Dib glowing red-ish, he'd become a fainter red once he fell asleep. Zim looked around at all the gadgets, wondering if they were more advanced than Irken technology. Probably not, but Irkens never made technology for this type of thing, they only made weapons. Zim wondered if the humans really were more advanced, they were happy to stay on their home planet, not wanting to dominate everything. Of course, they fought over their own planet, with their own species, but they didn't go to the extremes that Irkens would for domination.

Zim gazed at Dib again. He looked so innocent, contrary to Irkens. Humans were smart, they only wanted happiness. Irken were obsessed with weapons and war and domination. Dib mumbled something and stirred. His hands moved a little.

Dib's eyes flitted open. He glanced at the laptop in his hands and then at Zim. "Hey…why didn't you wake me up?" Dib asked, sounding angry.

"Pfff," Zim scoffed, "How am I supposed to know what the functions of humans are? You could have been concentrating for all I know…" he said this, even though he knew Dib was sleeping. He just didn't like waking Dib up, not when he looked so peaceful asleep.

"Tch, of course you wouldn't know what sleeping is…Cuz you're not normal…" Dib said, getting up. It had been an off-hand remark, but Zim took it more personal.

"I am _too_ normal," He said in a hurt, angry voice.

"Oh, _really_?" Dib said irritably.

"_Yes_!" Zim said strongly.

"If you're so normal, take that necklace off. Not everyone who's normal wears them, you know," Dib said.

Zim blushed deeply. "Yeah, well…if I'm _so_ not normal…then you can do this by yourself!" Zim barked, stalking out of the room.

"ZIM! You'll get lost, get back here!" Dib yelled after him. Zim ignored him, walking down the hall. Soon, Zim couldn't hear Dib anymore. That's when he realized that he hadn't seen the hallway he was walking in before. He gulped, the house was messing with him, moving walls. He was probably nowhere near the exit now. Chills went up his spine. What if he really did go missing? What if he didn't see Dib again? He turned around, searching for Dib, but he wasn't there. Zim felt so lonely, more lonely than ever. He wanted to be in Dib's arms again.

…

Dib paced in the living room. This was bad…Zim left. He was probably lost out there in the house. Maybe Zim didn't realize it yet, but this house wasn't normal. Dib had heard lots of rumors about this house, that people, especially men, got lost and never found. Well, that wasn't true. They found all the men…mangled and tortured to death anyway…the women were never found, which was why Dib didn't believe the illusionary Gaz, if Gaz really had been there, there wouldn't have been a body to find.

Dib wondered why Zim had zoned out. With him, there was no telling. But Dib was worried, what if that happened again? Dib wouldn't be there to make Zim snap out of it. He just wanted to take Zim in his arms and make sure he was safe, that they were both safe. Dib rushed out of the room to find Zim. It might take forever, and he may never find him, but Dib had to find Zim. He wanted to find Zim and tell him why he stared and why he fought with him. He wanted to tell Zim how in love he was with him.

…

…

…

Okay, haha, so much to say. First of all, so sorry for being slow! I'm horrible. I have so many excuses for slowness, but meh…

Ahem, anyway. I feel I should address something, since people have noticed and reviewed mentioning it. In the first chapter, when Zim's pak gets fried, or whatever. I'm so sorry, I meant to add in that Dib fixed it within minutes of it getting fried. And he just said that it was destroyed to throw off the Tallest. :P Bleh, sorry. I so meant to add that, but with it being the first chapter and me being a very distracted person. I would go back and fix it…but I don't know how, and I'm too lazy anyway.

Okay, third? Yes, third. Thanks to all of you! I lovez you more than muffins. Yes, really, more than muffins. I couldn't have come so far without you, even though six chapters isn't very far. But anyway!

Mio-Chan's Return, Invatercat, Dlbn, snickers-03, OrihimeSill, heartofstone15, Idiot-Rule-The-World, duuude, Confused Mind, Tallest Kiy, Doom Dragonness, UchihaGirl58, NikkiNaive, Broken Unloved and Forgotten, 1337kitsune

Sorry if I missed, or misspelled any names, haha. You guys have awesome screennames, I lovez them :)

Special thanks to NikkiNaive, who is the best secretary ever, in the world of fanfiction and out of it. :)

The next chapter will hopefully be fully written soon, it's at least planned out, sorry again for the lateness!


	7. Red

Chapter Seven: Red

Warnings: uh, fluffiness? I call it squishiness lol

"Zim!" Dib yelled through the halls, he hoped Zim could hear him, maybe they could find each other that way. Why, oh why didn't he bring tracking devices? He'd been in such a hurry to find Zim that he left all of his various detectors behind. He had no way of knowing if there was a ghost around, well, unless the ghost made itself known. Dib really hoped Zim was okay. He wanted to make up for their fight…he wanted to take back his words. Zim was more normal than he realized. By making the projector and trying to fit in and even playing along with Dib, Zim was probably more normal than Dib. Zim had denied giving up the reason why he didn't wake up Dib, just like Dib refused to confess why he stared at Zim.

His feet pounded hard against the old wood floors. He hoped Zim was at least listening for him. Out of the two of them, he wondered which would be more susceptible to the ghosts. Probably Dib, but maybe the ghosts didn't know that? Which would the ghosts go for? The stronger or weaker one?

…

Zim wandered the halls aimlessly. He'd been in this situation before, Irken training was pretty harsh. He figured that if the house wanted him to go somewhere, it would make the halls bend to lead him where it wanted him. He wasn't going to run and just fall so easily into the house's trap. It was so quiet. Zim wondered what the house was planning. Probably to separate them and kill them separately. Zim waited for whatever trap it was that the house had planned. The creak of floorboards beneath him kept Zim going, he listened like a paranoid runaway for any sound of Dib. No such sound came.

…

Dib turned a corner again, he was getting hoarse from yelling so much. Halfway down the hallway Dib saw a flash of color from a crossway ahead. Was it Zim, what was he running from? Dib ran after him, wanting to ask. The hallways got a little darker, if that was possible. It was harder to see Zim ahead of him. Dib called out to him, yelled that he was sorry, but Zim kept running. Zim wasn't wearing his jacket and Dib could see his pak, glowing in the light from Dib's flashlight. He wished Zim would wait for a minute and see that Dib wasn't trying to hurt him. Finally Zim stopped before a doorway, Dib couldn't see in front of the room, but Zim stared at the room with cold eyes.

"All I wanted was to be human, Dib…" Zim whispered. "All I needed from you was to feel normal…"

"I…I'm sorry, Zim…I…" Dib stumbled on his words. He didn't expect Zim to be so upfront about the issue.

"You let me down Dib…just like you always let everyone down, your father, your sister, you disappoint everyone…you really are insane, aren't you," Zim said.

"Zim…" Dib whispered. He was being a bit harsh, but what he said was true. Zim looked back at Dib with a small grin.

"See ya, Dib," Zim said faintly. He nodded. His disguise fell away, and Zim looked like his alien self again, red-eyed with antennae. Zim started to walk into the room.

"W-wait, Zim!" Dib yelled, he ran forward, finally seeing the room. It was the ballroom with the glass floor. Zim was walking to the center, sinking deep into the glass. It was like the glass had become a sea of liquid mercury, and Zim was sinking deeper into it. Just before his head disappeared below the toxic sea, Zim threw his head back to smirk and disappeared. Dib gasped. The _floor_ ate Zim…the floor _ate_ him!

Dib thrust his hands down to dive into the liquid, hoping to get Zim back. All he accomplished was banging his head on the floor. It was solid again. He sat on the floor, rubbing his head. Was that real? Was Zim really gone? He couldn't be. The house must have been tricking Dib again. Was that why Zim zoned out in this room before, the house was messing with him? Dib wondered what Zim had seen, maybe it was similar to what Dib had seen.

…

Things were way too quiet. Zim wondered if something else was going on beyond being led to a trap. Zim came to a subtle room. A couch, table, pictures on the wall. It all seemed so normal. Zim looked to the left and saw Dib, who was leaning on the wall. He was bare of his long black jacket. Zim's 'spooch grew warm. Dib threw Zim an angry glance. "What?" Dib snapped.

"Eh…huh?" Zim was confused, why was Dib so mad _now_? Could he still be angry with Zim for not waking him up? For not being normal? For failing to be human, like him?

"You just don't get it, do you?" Dib barked, he stood straight up, fists clenched. "You aren't human…you should just stop trying because you'll never be human enough for our world. You can't even be normal on your own planet. You failed your Tallest, and you've failed me, Zim," Dib said.

"I…I didn't mean to," Zim said, cowering back. Dib was different, something was wrong. Even as enemies Dib had never been so cold.

"Yeah, well no one ever means to die, but sometimes they just do…they just failed so much and can't please anyone, not even themselves, so their bodies just stop working…why hasn't that happened to you yet?" Dib taunted, "Why don't you die? Oh yeah, that stupid little thing on your back…a pak? It keeps you alive, even when you shouldn't have been born in the first place…" Zim started to back away, Dib was getting scary. "Why do you bother trying to be human? Eh? You're pathetic…trying to be something so much better than yourself, you're just kidding yourself, you can't hide it from me though, I know how pathetic you are in your very existence."

"Dib…" Zim whispered.

"Just die, Zim…DIE!" Dib hissed at him. Dib lunged at Zim, turning into smoke just as he hit. Zim didn't feel him at all. He looked around, standing stock-still. Dib was gone…he was gone forever. Zim seriously doubted that Dib could feel anything for Zim now…he had failed so miserably. Zim stepped out into the hall and looked at his hands. He pulled his gloves off.

His hands were human right down to the pores. Five fingers each…why? The ivory silverness of his skin dully reflected the glow of the flashlight that Zim had dropped. Zim ripped the projector from his neck. It wasn't damaged, but it did make a loud metallic noise as it hit the wall. He looked at his hands again. Green, three fingers now. Having gotten used to ivory, the green skin looked sickly. There was a time that he'd been proud of his color, but now he just found it disgusting. He wasn't Irken anymore. He couldn't be human though. He was neither.

Zim shook off his jacket slowly. He watched it drop to the floor. Too bad Dib wasn't here to watch; he would've liked to see it. Zim reached his long arms back, his pak scratching his arms slightly. Zim couldn't see well with the flashlight on the ground, but he managed to pry the pak off and throw it down the hall. He fell back against the wall. There. Ten minutes. He waited. It wouldn't be too long.

…

Pant, run, pant, run, pant…that's how it went. Dib ran hard. The decorated walls flew by. Wait. He thought of something. If the ghosts are moving the walls and rooms around, won't the ghosts just lead him away from Zim instead of to him? Yes. The ghosts wouldn't let them find each other right after having them separate. So all his running and effort had been for nothing. He leaned against the wall, he would never find him. Zim would be killed. Dib would probably be killed too.

"OOOOhhhhhhhiiiOOOOOO!" Something was making noises down the hall. There was a strange white sheet just hanging there. It didn't make sense. Dib went over and pulled on it. There stood a little green dog. Dib knew it wasn't a dog.

"Gir? How'd you get here?" Dib asked.

"I _don't _knooooww…" Gir coed. Dib poked him in the head and he screeched.

"H-hey, can you locate Zim?" Dib asked, hoping against hope that for once Gir would do something right and that ghosts couldn't mess with robots.

"Weeeeeeelll, since your head smells like puppies!" Gir's eyes went blank for a moment as he calculated. Dib sniffed his hair, did it really smell like puppies? What did puppies smell like? "KAY!" Gir screamed, hoisting Dib above his head.

"Hey!" Dib said, not liking here Gir choose to put his hands. Gir's blasters ignited and he took off flying. Then he ran straight into a wall. Dib rolled roughly away and jumped up. He watched as Gir's body parts reattached. After he was whole, Gir simply flew away without Dib. "Hey! You can't just leave me here!" Dib yelled after the robot. He sat, thinking. He was closer, maybe. It was so quiet now that Dib wasn't running and yelling everywhere.

So silent. Weren't ghosts supposed to make noise? Somewhere along the Gir train, he'd lost his flashlight, now it was dark and silent. But there was something glowing softly up ahead, around the corner. It was probably nothing. Then he heard something, a metallic clicking, sort of. Was it really nothing over there? Maybe it deserved a checkout, at least. He was sure the ghosts in the house would give him that small thing. He stumbled down the hall, finding it hard to walk in the dark.

He kept remembering Zim disappearing below the silver liquid, liquid mercury. It was creepy. That smirk kept flashing in his mind. It was demented. Zim wouldn't do that, he was crazy, but he wouldn't do that. It must have been a ghost imitating him. But where'd they find out what Zim looked like when undisguised?

He found out quickly. There was Zim, against the wall. Gir was sitting on his lap poking him. "Master? Wake up…." Gir kept repeating. Zim's jacket was on the floor next to his flashlight. Dib saw a flash down the hall. It was the projector, reflecting the little but of light it could from the flashlight.

Zim wasn't in disguise now, but Dib couldn't figure out why he was asleep. Irkens didn't sleep as far as he could tell. Then he saw something horrible that he wished he didn't see. Another glimmer of light was next to the projector. It was round and made of metal. Zim's pak, when did Zim do that? Why? Is that why Zim was asleep? Oh no…he wasn't just sleeping. Dib rushed to the pak and back to Zim. He looked bad, a paler shade of green than usual. How much time was there?

"Gir…help me," Dib said. He had Gir keep Zim leaned forward as Dib tried desperately to reattach Zim's pak. It looked like it was forced off, so it was hard to get back on. But he managed to snap it back in place, promptly making electric sounds. Zim mumbled and opened his dull red eyes. "Zim…?" Dib whispered.

"Hn?" Zim breathed. Dib wrapped his arms around Zim tightly, crushing his face into Zim's chest.

"God Zim! You're such an idiot!" Dib sobbed into Zim. Gir squealed and ran away, leaving the boys alone together. Zim looked down at the human in his lap in disorientation. He smiled and ran his Irken hands through Dib's hair, rubbing his head. It seemed so right.

Dib sat up and crawled into Zim's open arms as they held each other. Dib nestled his head into Zim's chest, Zim's head resting Dib's head. "You know…your head's not so big…" Zim mumbled.

Dib laughed. "Yeah…you're completely normal Zim…I'm sorry," Dib apologized.

"I'm not normal…" Zim whispered. Dib looked up at Zim questioningly. "I don't need to be normal…"

"No, you don't," Dib said smiling. Zim smiling back softly.

"I _can't_ be human…" Zim said softly, almost inaudible, "and I can't be Irken…" Zim looked at his own hand. "I don't know what I am, I guess I'm nothing…" Dib took Zim's hand in his own.

"You're mine," Dib said strongly, "And that's all that matters. I don't care if you're human or Irken or neither or both." Dib reached up to kiss Zim's antennae softly. "I always liked you better green anyway," Dib told him.

"You must be insane," Zim said in Dib's ear. Dib looked up at Zim, their eyes met. Dib pressed his warm lips to Zim's cold ones, They both felt such relief flood inside that they both felt it as they melted into each other.

"You know I am," Dib panted. They heard a crash come from somewhere inside the house. "Oh yeah…kissing in a haunted house…not really good…"

"Being in a haunted house at all…" Zim pointed out.

"Well, yeah…" Dib agreed. Dib helped Zim up. Zim slid his jacket back on and picked up the projector. He started to put it on. "Not yet…" Dib said, he really did like the green tint of Zim's skin, it was comforting. Zim grinned at him.

"You find Zim appealing, yes?" Zim said proudly.

"Obviously," Dib said.

"Zim likes you too," Zim said quietly next to Dib. "Wasn't Gir here?" Zim asked, looking around.

"I think he ran off somewhere…" Dib said, looking down the hall. Zim picked up his flashlight and grabbed Dib's hand, dragging him down the hall with him.

"GIR!" Zim yelled.

"Yes master!" They saw two red points of light ahead.

"Go get help!" Zim ordered. Gir nodded and ran off giggling.

"Wait! Can't we use him to get out?" Dib asked, making Gir leave seemed pointless.

"Gir can't really do that by himself," Zim pointed out.

"Yeah, got me there," Dib admitted. Whoever Gir found could probably help more than Gir alone. They kept walking, floorboards creaking as they went.

"So…what now?" Zim asked. Dib looked at him in confusion. "I just mean…now we wait for Gir…and then what, you know?"

"Then we go home?" Dib guessed. Zim held onto Dib tighter.

"Yeah," He said hollowly, "Things will be different though…" Dib didn't know what he meant, but it sounded good. "OW!" Zim yelled. He held his leg up while cursing in another language.

"What?" Dib said. He looked down and saw a huge silver box. It was some sort of recording device from a long time ago. Dib took the tape out and looked it over.

"What on Irk is that?" Zim asked. He still looked mad that he'd hit it, but he was curious too.

"It's a recording. I think it might be from the last group who came through here…" Dib explained. Zim looked closer at it. "I just might have something that can decode it…"

"I've never seen one…" Zim mumbled.

"It's old…no one uses these anymore…" Dib explained. He pocketed it and looked around, there was more equipment, old junk that used to be used for paranormal research, but it was all horribly outdated.

'_Heeeelllppp…._' Dib looked up. Was that a ghost. Zim looked around too.

"What was that?" Zim asked.

"I don't know," Dib said.

'_Build….help us build…_' the eerie voices called.

"We should go…." Zim whispered. Dib nodded and they broke into a run away from the creepy callings. Help build? Come to think of it, Dib remembered some story about how the ghosts called out to people to help them build onto the house. People said that was how the house kept getting bigger. Dib had never believed it, but it was true.

They wandered into the kitchen again, but it was different now, though. The dust was gone and the colors were more vivid. The door to the wine cellar was opened and there stood a beautiful black woman. She wore a colorful scarf on her head and had a long tattered dress. Her eyes looked like they were about to bug out of her head. "Now, boys," She called, she had a deep southern accent, "why don't you help us rebuild, it would be mighty helpful." She pulled a hammer out from behind her and ushered it forward.

"Let's go," Dib whispered frantically to Zim, he nodded and they ran into the greenhouse as the woman started to shriek something about men being useless. The greenhouse was…actually green now. There were rose and vines and it was humid.

"It's like the house is waking up…" Zim pondered, Dib agreed, it was definitely changing.

"But we need to get out of here before it eats us…" Dib stated. They went to the glass walls and pounded hard on the panels. It was like they were brick, they wouldn't even budge.

"I don't think glass is supposed to be like this…" Zim panted. They looked back, the woman was coming through the doorway, but her face was different. It was like a zombie, she was hollowed out and her eyes were gone and her hair hung in mats.

"Rebuild!" She shrieked. They both screamed. The house was going to eat them. That, of course, was what they thought before something came crashing into the glass panels of the greenhouse. Shards of glass and plant-life flew everywhere, sending the boys flying into the metal rack behind them. The ghost woman shrieked and dissipated.

"You idiots!" Gaz yelled at them through the window. She was in the voot cruiser. How she was driving it, no one knew, but they were glad to see her.

"Gaz! You're here!" Dib yelled happily. He help Zim up and they ran to the window.

"Yeah well…Gir wouldn't leave me alone," She complained. Said Gir was in the back, chirping contentedly. As Dib and Zim got in, Gir latched onto Dib's head.

"Puppy head!" Gir screeched.

"Hey, I'm you're master, Gir!" Zim said, pointing to himself. Gir just kept smiling and sat on Dib's head. As they flew away, they looked back at the house. The woman stood, alongside other zombied women, and shrieked. They were all shrieking.

Dib sighed, "I'm glad we're out of there…" He looked over at Zim and then realized something. "But we left all our evidence back in the house!"

Zim looked like he didn't know what Dib was talking about and then grinned. "Nope!" He pulled the thermal camera out of his pak and handed it to Dib. Dib nearly squealed in joy like Gir often did.

"We actually got something!" Dib yelled.

"You're voices are suffocating me! Shut up!" Gaz yelled. Gir jumped up to the front and sat next to Gaz. She eyed him with hatred for a moment before he pulled a taquito and handed it to her. She took it and patted Gir on the head. Dib and Zim had to struggle not to laugh. The whole ride back Gaz and Gir ate Mexican food while Dib and Zim looked through the camera's recordings.

…

"I can't believe we're doing this…." Dib moaned.

"It has to be done!" Zim said next to him. The comment was directed more to himself than at Dib.

"_Why_ are we doing this?" Dib asked, already knowing why they were there.

"Only your father has the technology to decode that disk…thingy…" Zim mumbled.

"It's a tape…and I know…" Dib said.

"If you know…you shouldn't ask," Zim said, a little put off. He pulled the projector out and slipped it on. Dib looked over to make sure Zim looked human. Dib rang the doorbell to his own house and waited.

The door cracked open and a lit of light flooded onto them. "Son! You have returned!" Professor Membrane shouted. He swung the door open and welcomed Dib into the house. "And you've brought your little foreign friend with you!" He slapped Zim on the back, promptly making Zim wish he weren't there. "It's great that you're making friends!"

"Y-yeah, dad," Dib said awkwardly. They went and sat in the kitchen. At the very same table where Dib traded Zim's life away. He still felt a bit guilty about that as he watched Zim sit there uncomfortably.

"So! My son! What have you been up to? Don't tell me it's that para-science again?" Prof. Membrane said, oblivious to the fact that the alien he'd hunted twice was sitting right in front of him.

"Actually, dad…Uhm, _Fez_…and I were going to watch a…um, documentary tape…about….super toast, and science!" Dib said, making up everything he said.

"Really?" Prof. Membrane said powerfully, like he couldn't believe it.

"Yeeeeahhhh," Dib sighed. Maybe his dad was believing him.

"Well, that's great son!" Prof. Membrane shouted. He stood up quickly, causing Zim to flinch, but Dib's dad didn't notice. "Do you need assistance? Equipment? Anything?" He asked, sounding excited about 'real' science.

"Eh, actually, I was wondering if you had something that can read this," Dib said, handing the tape to the professor.

"Ah, yes, Beta tapes!" He yelled. "Of course I have a Beta player! Come with me son!" He strode off quickly to his lab, leaving Zim and Dib confused in the kitchen.

"Come on, Zim…he's obviously forgotten now…" Dib said, trying to comfort Zim in being there.

"I though my name was _Fez_…." Zim sneered at Dib, only kidding.

Dib laughed, "Well, I couldn't call you Zim, then he would've known." Zim laughed softly and went with Dib to the lab. When they went in, Dib's dad was pulling a big black box out of a drawer. He set it on top of a TV that just happened to be in there. He passed the tape to Dib.

"Well, you and Fez have a good time with studying!" Prof. Membrane called to them. "Studying in summer, brilliant!" he said to himself. Dib watched him go, then put the tape in the Beta player. Dib remembered that Beta tapes were pretty old, he was a bit surprised that his dad had one. Zim sat down on a stool and waited. Dib got the tape going and, holding the remote, sat next to Zim.

The screen came to life and they saw a woman with big frizzy blonde hair look around nervously. "Hello," The woman said quickly, "My name is Joyce Reardon, and if you're watching this…then I never got out of this house alive. Yes, unfortunate for me, but lucky for you, whoever you are, because it means you came in and _did_ get out. Now listen to me…this isn't about the house or the ghosts." Dib watched the woman, she kept looking around like someone was going to come at her. Maybe she wasn't supposed to be recording something and she didn't want to be caught.

"This is about something in the sky…something in the sky is causing strange things to happen all over the country. I don't know what it is…and I don't know if anyone will ever see this, but I think something…_alien_….is going to attack the planet…_our_ planet…I don't know who these people are that are messing with earth, but…satellites keep going out. I know they go out on their own, without cause. But these are getting demolished, for no reason. No one knows why. And some mysterious signal keeps interfering with ours. Like they're searching for something and just happen to pass earth's frequency…" Zim was definitely watching now. This was getting very interesting. Dib was watching too, he was really just amazed that someone else believed in aliens. They listened to the woman talk about aliens some more, there was something about crop circles, a bit about UFOs. Finally the tape ended.

Dib was amazed, simply awed, by the amount of work and dedication the woman had put into the research. He thought about what she must have gone through. Ridicule for believing these things, and especially for making a video about it. He was feeling respect for this Joyce person, it was just about the same time that he noticed Zim was hunched over and shaking now. "Zim? Are…are you okay?"

Zim busted out laughing, no longer able to contain himself. Since he was in disguise, he was turning red in the face. "Zim! How is that funny at all! She said there are aliens coming for earth! She was warning us!" Dib yelled at him.

"She's….she's wrong…!" Zim managed. Dib sighed and waiting for Zim to stop laughing so hard. "She was right…though, about the crop circles and stuff being aliens…just, not for the reasons she said."

"What do you mean?" Dib asked.

"Crop circles…the ones she showed…" Zim sniggered some more, Dib was about to smack him when he continued, "They're the mark of intergalactic gangs…" Zim said, still laughing. Intergalactic gangs.

"So…there's a gang war going on around earth?" Dib asked in panicked tones.

"No!" Zim said, laughing more. "Earth is….is…A testing rang…for lasers, hahahaha, for making the art…." Zim was gasping for breath now.

"Wait…so…they just come to earth to…try out their graffiti?" Dib asked. Zim nodded, well as much as one could do while shaking with laughter. "So…she spent all that time…for nothing…?" Dib asked again. Zim nodded. Now Dib felt bad for her, she had wasted so much time. "What about the signals?"

"Testing…ranged…radios…" Zim said, struggling to regain himself.

"Pfff. It's not so funny," Dib said. He looked away from the laughing Zim. He had to admit, after getting rescued from ghosts and a house that ate people and nearly escaping death, it was pretty nice to laugh. So Dib laughed some at the woman who had spent all that time on some space graffiti. Once he started laughing, he laughed harder, and he couldn't seem to stop. Soon, he and Zim were on the same level of laughter, both keeping the other from falling on the floor, laughing so hard they couldn't breath.

"My poor insane son," Professor Membrane said at the doorway and walked away from them. Dib and Zim looked over at him and stopped laughing for a moment, then fell to floor with howls of laughter.

…

heehee. I like the ending. Just had to leave on a really happy note. :)

Ahem, anyway. I have esplainy to do. This was partly based on the Stephen King movie, Rose Red, about a ghost house, where the house is basically alive. I didn't bother to mention it because I pretty much said all that was needed to know. I only did it cuz I love that movie, even though it's like six hours long. Haha.

Anyway. The next chapter shall be much cuter and just be a nice fluffy (or squishy) chapter with lots and lots of Gir. (: Have a nice day all :)


	8. War?

Chapter eight: War…?

Warnings:...uhm...Zim cuteness? Yes, my Zimmy!

Dib stared up at the robot on the counter. Gir held a very important piece of equipment. It was an Irken device used in the cruiser. And Dib needed it. "Gir…" Dib said, trying to be patient with him, "_Please_ give it back to me."

"Dance!" Gir demanded. Dib twitched. No on made Dib dance, never.

"No, Gir, I have a better idea," Said a female voice behind Dib. He turned around to see Gaz grinning at him. "Let's play a game," Gaz said, evil smile in place.

"YAY! What kind of game?" Gir said, jumping on Gaz's shoulder. Gaz started to pet Gir like a cat. It was creeping Dib out.

"Hmm, get alien boy up here and we'll see," She ordered at Dib. Dib twitched, but followed her orders. Gaz was scary when she had her mind set to something other than a video game.

…

Gaz stood before them, and Gir…he was rolling around on the floor again. Dib and Zim sat on the couch. Dib awaited the fate that would become of them miserably. Zim didn't really know what was going on besides that they were going to do something.

"Now…what sort of game should we play first?" Gaz asked. She paced before them, thinking. "I know, it should be like a tournament! Whoever wins the most games wins the prize?" Zim's antennae perked up.

"Prize?" He asked.

"Yes, this," Gaz said, pulling out the hardware she'd stolen.

"That's my proton generator!" Zim yelled. "Give it back!"

"Nope, stupid over there left it out, so it's mine now. You have to win it," Gaz said, giving the generator to Gir who ran out of the room with glee.

"How could you let her get the proton generator, the cruiser needs it to fly!" Zim yelled.

"I'm sorry. When we get it back, I was going to remodel it so that-"

"No. It's going back into the cruiser," Zim said, crossing his arms, his red eyes squinting.

"Zim…I need it to-"

"Oh, so cute, little boys. Fighting over things," Gaz said sweetly. "If Zim wins, he gets to use it. If Dib wins, he gets to use it. That's rule one."

"Gaz, just give it back. This is stupid," Dib moaned.

"NO!" Gaz yelled unexpectedly. She stomped one leg into the couch in between the two and pointed at Dib angrily. "You will obey me!"

"Yes, sir," Zim said, saluting her. Why was Zim always saluting people. Dib remembered Zim saluting all the teachers when they gave orders, it pissed some people off, others thought it was respect and told the others students to do the same.

Gaz relaxed, ignoring the fact that Dib hadn't done the same. She backed off and stood before them again. "Good," She said quietly. Gir came bouncing back in the room and jumped on Gaz again. She smiled at him and then turned to the boys. "Now…what to play…what to play?" She said sadistically. Gir started to laugh maniacally and Zim wondered whose side Gir was really on. "I know! The two of you, have a staring contest!"

"What? That's…stupid…" Dib said. Normally wouldn't Gaz have them try to blow each other up? A staring contest was pretty mundane of her to ask for.

"What's that?" Zim asked, still not understanding everything. He'd seen on TV some of the stupid things human put them through, but he hadn't heard of this particular torture yet.

Dib sighed, always being the one to explain. "Zim, a staring contest is when two people stare at each other for as long as they can without blinking, the first person to blink is the loser." Zim blinked, ironically, at that. It wasn't torture at all…so what did it mean?

"Why?" Zim asked. Apparently they didn't have games on Irk.

"It's just a game, so let's hurry before Gaz gets mad again," Dib said.

Zim huffed, but complied. Zim and Dib faced each other on the couch. Dib stared into Zim's blood red eyes, getting ready for it to begin. Zim did likewise; he found Dib's brown eyes comforting to look at. Gaz peered at the both of them, waiting for one or the other to blink. Zim's eyes never wavered. Dib found it hard to keep his eyes on Zim's powerful gaze. Was this Irken, to be able to stare at someone this strongly? Zim's gaze held no malice nor envy or anything angry. His gaze was simply…determined. Zim winced, concentrating on not closing his eyes. Gaz sighed, this was taking too long for her to enjoy, but she did like seeing Dib squirm under the alien's stare, though.

Gir was oblivious to everything; he sat on Gaz's shoulders, toying with her hair. Dib finally got distracted and his eyes strayed from Zim's eyes to his mouth. It was small and pressed together. Zim was really focusing on holding his gaze steady, it was odd for him to put so much effort into it. Dib unconsciously blinked, having lost track of his thoughts in admiring Zim. Only after he did it did he realize that he lost.

"YAY! Master wins!" Gir yelled in his high-pitched way. Dib was surprised that Gaz could handle Gir screaming right next to her. Dib looked at Zim, who was now grinning in victory. Gaz was grinning too, it was obvious that she just wanted to torture Dib.

"Yes, Zim wins the first round. Now for the second game," Gaz said. She grinned ever more, having figured out the next event while the boys had been concentrating. Dib gulped, Gaz came up with the staring contest on the spot, which was why it was harmless. But now that she had time to think about it, this next thing would probably hurt. But Zim didn't even realize it, he was still grinning like a fool. Dib wanted to slap him, but he figured they'd both get a good beating once Gaz announced their next little "game".

…

Yes, they were going to die. Pretty soon. He watched Zim carefully. Zim was in disguise again and clad in some type of armor now. Dib looked at his own weapon and prayed that Gaz wouldn't get even more violent with their next ventures. A red light above them told them it was time to start and heavy doors opened. Dib lowered his goggles and ran out of their pen at the same time that Zim did. Lucky for Dib, Zim had terrible aim, and Dib had actually done this before. Gaz made him come her from time to time. He looked above at the railing overhead at Gaz. She waved lightly, and then pretended to be scared. Gir waved like crazy from his perch on the rail.

Something heavy and slick hit Dib's shoulder. Dib sank below the hay bale that sat in the arena. That's what Gaz was doing, pretending to be worried about him. Dib looked at the red paint on his shoulder. Of course Zim would pick red, what else? Dib hoisted his own paintball gun over the edge of the bale and looked for Zim. He was honestly surprised that Zim had managed to clip him. He had been raised on a military based planet, though. It made sense, Dib started to worry, as he couldn't see Zim in his view.

…

_Foolish humans_, Zim thought, _how dare they challenge _Zim_ to a _military_ based game?_ This was nowhere near the kind of games they played on Irk. Well, they weren't games so much as training obstacles. But it was still fun to have shot lasers at robotic canons, Zim got in trouble for that, but wasn't that the point of those games? Anyway, as Zim ducked behind a metal barrel when the game started, he noticed that across the field, Dib wasn't paying attention; he was looking up at the people above. _Stupid move to not watch the enemy lines, Dib_.

Zim raised his gun, which was heavier than it looked, and aimed for Dib. He aimed straight for Dib's chest, right where the game would end. But that innocent look on Dib's face, why was it hard for Zim to shoot? The guns weren't real so Dib wouldn't really die. But Zim couldn't do it. He tilted his gun slightly and shot quickly. He watched as Dib held his shoulder and went below the hay bale next to him. Zim held back a laugh, Dib didn't have a chance. Dib finally brought up his weapon and looked around, he looked so confused and worried. It made Zim almost shake with laughter, even the smartest human on earth was no chance for even a defect Irken. Zim noticed that he'd just insulted himself, but ignored it. Right now, the war at hand was more important.

Zim darted to another cover, checking to make sure Dib hadn't seen him. He didn't. Gaz did though, but Zim knew she wouldn't tell Dib. She grinned and admired the way Zim ducked and ran from object to object, getting closer for a better shot at Dib.

…

Gaz had to admit, the alien wasn't actually bad at battle. He proved to be very good. He was keeping out of Dib's sight and had already clipped him. Now if only he didn't have emotional ties to Dib, Zim would have taken Dib out with that first shot. Gaz had seen that look on space-boy's face, he was aimed directly for Dib's chest before he decided to just clip Dib's shoulder instead. Or maybe the militaristic invader just wanted a good fight. Gaz could respect that. She watched them from above, feeling like a puppet master. They were only doing this because she had some piece of junk that they wanted. It felt good to control them. Maybe that's what it felt like to be the leader of a planet. Able to send out wave after wave of soldiers at helpless little planets like earth. Gaz hoped someday that would happen.

Gir laughed maniacally next to her again. That laughter, the mechanical voice scraping together, just barely making it audible. She loved it, for some reason. The tones were far from human, but she found promise in them, even comfort. When she took over some foreign planet, Gir would be her right hand, even if he was defective. Gir was a defective robot, and Gaz was a defective human. They were perfect together.

…

Dib ran to another hideout, trying not to let Zim see him, even if he didn't know where Zim was. Zim could be right behind him, or next to him, or in front of him. Dib calmed himself down. It's just a game, he told himself, just a game. No need to worry so much. Yet the thought a getting hit, it sent shivers down Dib's spine. Did Zim have to deal with this on Irk during training? No wonder he was crazy like he was. Or maybe Dib was the crazy one.

Dib sensed his presence nearby. He kept his gun in front of his face and pointed wherever Dibs gaze went. He felt paranoid, not wanting to get hit with another paintball. They kind of hurt. He saw something move at a nearly wall and shot at it sporadically, only to find out that it was a tin can Zim had apparently through over there. Great, Dib had jus given his location away. Zim was smart enough to figure out where Dib was with the trajectory of Dib's shots. Zim probably knew where Dib was by now. He ran, trying to find a new spot.

It hit the left side of his back, almost making him fall over. It wasn't a kill shot. Dib wasn't dead yet, but now he knew Zim was behind him. He turned around and released several paintball onto walls and barrels, but no Zim. He'd already gotten in a shot and hidden again. "You'll never get me, give up," Zim taunted from somewhere. Dib couldn't tell where he was. But he wasn't about to give himself up. He hid behind a barrel and waited for signs of the Irken.

…

Zim looked out from behind the haystack wall he was hiding behind. Dib was so innocent, trying to hide behind a barrel when Zim already knew where he was. One shot, that was all Zim had, then Dib would know where he was and be able to retaliate. There was no where Zim could run where Dib wouldn't be able to find him now. Zim aimed straight for Dib's heart. It was hard to imagine, killing Dib this way. Dib wouldn't really die, but wasn't this just like it? Zim thought back to when he was trying to take over the world and Dib was his enemy. Zim looked at Dib with hate, trying to imagine him as evil. Zim closed his eyes and fired.

…

Dib fell over, having been struck in the chest. He dropped his gun to the ground. He looked at his bloody chest, blood everywhere. No wait…it was paint. Fear in his body was replaced with relief. He wasn't dead, the shot to the chest hadn't even hurt that much. That fact that it was inevitable had scared him was all. He got up and saw Zim leaning out from behind a wall, watching Dib with an almost sad expression. "Got me," Dib said, smiling a little and raising both hands up.

Zim looked worried for a minute, then changed his attitude to his usual arrogance. "Yes, Zim wins again!" He yelled to the arena. A few people who had been watching clapped at the flawless victory. Zim was completely unmarred, not a single drop of paint on him, which was probably good. There was no telling if Zim was affected by paint or not. They both looked up to Gaz who watched with a playful expression, she motioned for them to leave the arena, so they did.

…

Zim was good. Gaz would make a special place for him in her own invasion plans. Zim wouldn't be an invader, per say, but maybe a general or a battle leader. Something like that. He got a flawless victory on Dib, killing him in only two shots. She watched Gir play on the floor. Irken technology was pretty nice, maybe she would try to conquer the Irkens someday.

…

Gaz had them meet at game shop for the most important competition of them all. Gaz stood with Gir against one game-filled wall with Zim and Dib facing her. "Next game…is a game," Gaz said with maliciously.

Zim was confused and cocked his head at Gaz, trying to understand. Dib groaned and leaned his face into his hands. "…oh no…"

"What?" Zim asked, angry that he didn't realize what was going on.

"We're in a game shop, Zim…and we're going to play a game…?" Dib said, hoping Zim would get it. He still looked confused. Gaz moved aside to reveal two controllers hooked into the wall with a screen above it. It was meant for demos for trying out games.

"Eh…a video game?" He asked. Dib nodded sadly. He had no idea how good Zim would be at video games. Probably very good, being an Irken with training in robotics and engineering and having crafted bombs that could blow up whole planets. Dib knew he would loose this one two.

"Zim, two. Dib, none," Gaz said like an announcer, "Begin the next game." She stood just behind them, watching the screen.

"Mortal Kombat!" Gir screeched at the same time as the video screen. Dib moaned inside, a combat game, how perfect. Zim would murder him to pieces in this game.

…

_Zim's thoughts at that moment:_ Mortal Kombat? Do the stupid humans realize it's spelled wrong? Oh well, Skool is spelled wrong too, guess it's just a fad or something. Why is it that no one notices that our green dog is talking and eating burritos out of his head with a human girl? Guess they're just stupid. What do all the buttons on these things do? Guess I'll just find out. What's the point of this game? There's two characters and they…what? Should've played more video games, I guess. Mortal Kombat…does that mean we fight to the death? Wow, humans are more violent than I thought. Though not as violent as Irkens, we fight to the death for real, not in stupid little games on screens like humans do…

…

Zim and Dib both picked up their controllers and chose characters. Dib clicked on his favorite one, the one that had beat Gaz, one single time. Zim seemed to pick one at random, not knowing what to do. "Smoke Vs. Nightwolf," the screen announced.

Dib started the round with several kicks and punches, knocking Nightwolf around to the other side. Zim looked frustrated, looking at his controller. He started just pushing random buttons furiously. He sent Smoke flying back, Zim looked up in surprise for a moment, not sure how he did it. Then he went back to the controller, trying to figure it out.

In Dib's head, the battle was epic and long. Zim and him fighting with their characters back and forth. Zim landed some good combo moves on Dib, but Dib had mastered Smoke now, by playing Gaz constantly when they were younger. So Dib, having nearly lost all his health, made the final, deadly, blow that knocked Zim's character out.

"Yeah!" Dib yelled. Strangely, people didn't even bother to look their way, as if they were used to the strange outbursts from crazy people. Zim just scoffed and let go of the controller.

"Whatever," Zim sighed, like he didn't care that he had nearly beat Dib at their game. Mortal Kombat was a hard game to play. Dib smiled and held out his hand.

"Good game," Dib said in sportsmanship. Zim stared at his hand for a minute.

"Yeah," Zim said, grasping Dib's hand back.

…

Zim lost. Zim lost to Dib. Maybe he wouldn't be such a good general after all. Gaz thought about that for a minute and looked at the robot disguised as a dog who was banging his head on the floor. Gir wasn't such a good right hand, but who really was. Certainly no human. Who was she kidding, Gir was perfect. He did everything she asked or demanded, he even did things she didn't ask for. She had never told anyone that she liked waffles in the morning. Gir always gave her waffles for no apparent reason.

Zim _did _fix that necklace thing and reprogram it, and he was constantly fixing Gir. Maybe she could teach him in the ways of video games and make a good general out of him for her army. What about Dib, well, he'd proven himself worthy. Maybe he could be a scientist or something. Maybe her slave. That seemed more fitting.

…

Gaz called both of the boys to follow her to the food court. For some reason Zim seemed more jumpy there. Maybe because of all the food that was literal poison to him. Dib watched Zim be paranoid at the table. He turned to Gaz who was smiling like an evil mastermind, which she probably was. She was probably planning for world domination, who knew. Gir was on the ground again, only now he had an assortment of Mexican food and was being quiet.

"The next game is really, really fun…" Gaz hissed. Zim jumped at the sound of her evil voice. Dib just rolled his eyes and waited for her explanation. Hopefully he would be able to catch up to Zim in this game. "Both of you go around the mall and talk to girls. Whoever gets the most phone numbers wins." Gaz had an evil spark in her eye. Dib was worried now. Sure, Dib had become more attractive over the years, and he was pretty tall. But even though Zim was shorter, his human appearance, it was quite overwhelming. He wondered which girls would notice more, Zim's looks, or his short temper and awkwardness with humans.

"Why do we want people's phone numbers?" Zim asked. Of course, Zim didn't know the point of that, since he never made phone calls. He and Dib lived together, so they didn't need to call each other.

"We just need them to win the game," Dib said with a sigh. Better to save explaining that one for later. Zim shrugged, agreeing to go along with it.

"Whatever," Zim said, nonchalantly.

"Run free my minions…run in terror…" Gaz said, spooking both of them out. They stared at her. "What? I'm just testing the waters. GO!" She yelled. They both sprang up and went in opposite directions. Gaz remained sitting, wondering what the point of this game had. The first one was to see which had more determination and strength enough to glare the enemy down, even if the enemy was a loved one. The second was to see which could actually shoot the other down, that one had been better than expected. The third was to test their skills in fighting, even though it was only a video game. She supposed this last one was just for fun. It was interesting to watch them squirm with interacting with people.

…

Zim wandered the large mall for a few minutes. Women…_earth_ women…what did they talk about? How did people attain their numbers? He saw a small group of the prey gathered just before a shoe store, four of them exactly. Perfect amount to test his ability in communicating with them. He remembered the last time he'd tried to do that. It was with Tak and it hadn't gone very well at all. Zim cringed remembering the way she'd retaliated.

He came up to the girls cautiously, not wanting to provoke them. What did people like? Compliments? He turned to the blonde one with a very low shirt and draped down. "Hey, um, I like your shirt…" Zim said, a bit awkwardly. The other girls smirked and the blonde one grinned.

"I bet you do," She said slowly, she poked one finger on the rim of her shirt. Zim noticed how much black there was under her eyes. She was also wearing quite a lot of black clothing. The shirt he's complimented was black and covered in seemingly useless buckles. "Hey, you like mosh pits?" The girl asked.

Zim had no idea what that was, but if there was a pit involved, it had to be fun. "Sure, I go all the time." He tried to sound sure of himself, the girl smiled more and her eyes gleamed.

"Give me a call sometime then, big boy, I'll hook you up," She offered. She reached her hand in Zim's pocket and then took her hand back and left with her group of girls who were giggling. Zim found a slip of paper in his pocket, it had a long number scrawled on it under a single name. _Black Mistress._ What a strange name. But Zim had a number. He tried to keep himself from bursting out, he knew it was unattractive to do so. And he needed as many numbers as he could get. Dib could be very good when he wanted to be.

…

Dib tried to get the black coffee stain out of his shirt in the sink. Why did that woman simply feel the need to pour coffee on Dib's chest? It wasn't like he _tried _to insult her, it just came out wrong. He wondered how Zim was going. Dib didn't have squat. Women had some sort of natural thing about them that told them to dislike Dib immediately. Maybe Zim did too? Who knew, but Dib needed some numbers, quick.

He walked out of the restroom and into some shop where he saw some women again. One of them, the blonde one, he noticed was Black Mistress. Gaz practically worshipped that woman. She would love Dib if he got a number for her. Okay, this was for the contest and for Gaz, well, to get on her good side anyway. Dib approached the woman warily, knowing Goths could be very scary if you didn't talk the right way to them.

"Hi there," Dib greeted the girl. She looked at him with boredom and slight anger that he had interrupted her conversation. "How are you ladies," Dib asked kindly.

"Get lost…" She said lazily. Dib walked away feeling a bit disappointed, but it was as he expected. He wandered around the mall for a while, passing all kinds of girls. Finally he stopped at some store. There was a slightly homely girl who looked sad. Dib stopped to talk to her, which seemed to make her day. They talked for a minute, Dib found out why she was sad and also found out that her life was completely boring and had nothing exciting at all, but that wasn't even what bothered the girl. She was fine with a boring life, she was sad about something completely stupid that it bothered Dib's brain to concentrate on it too long. He ended up getting a phone number from the girl, and he promised to call if he could, but he promised himself that he would "accidentally" loose the number after this was over. It seemed mean, but he had Zim, he didn't need some boring girl in his life.

…

Zim held several slips of paper in his hands. It had been easy to get them all. Most of the girls just looked at him and gave him their number without Zim even having to say much at all. He just wondered if it was enough to beat Dib. He looked at one of the many clocks in the mall and marched over to the food court. It was time to see who won.

Dib was already seated at their table, Gaz had her game in her hands. Zim sat and waited for Gaz to announce what was next. "So Zim, let's see how many you have," Dib prodded with a grin. Zim gulped, Dib was probably going to win this one. He pulled out his slips and laid them on the tabletop. Gaz actually stopped playing her game to look at Zim's pile.

"No way…" She whispered. Zim looked away, he was embarrassed, he knew it wasn't enough. But when he looked at Dib, Dib just stopped smiling and blushed. Dib pulled out his pile. Well, not pile, more like a single paper. He laid it next to Zim's and looked away. Gaz burst out laughing. It was almost like she expected it to turn out this way. Zim peered at Dib, curious as to why the human was blushing so much. Was he embarrassed? Why was that? "Zim, you win," Gaz announced. She put her game away for the moment. Something in Zim's pile caught her eye. "Oh…my…god…" She uttered. She just sat there a moment, making Zim and Dib think she'd suddenly died or something. "You…you got _Black Mistress's_ number? No way?" She asked, shell shocked. She held the number in her hands and walked away.

Dib watched her go, at least she had the number, even if he wasn't the one to give it to her. Not like Zim understood why Gaz wanted the precious number anyway. And when Dib looked over, yes, Zim looked completely confused. "Come on Zim, let's go home," Dib said. Zim nodded. Dib held his hand out for Zim to take, which he did. Dib doubted he knew what that meant, but at least Zim trusted him enough to take his hand. They walked out of the mall proudly together. Zim actually left his pile of numbers on the table, not even bothering to give them a second glance. Dib felt a lot better now, Zim had all the chances in the world at women, but he still chose Dib at the end. Dib grinned all the way home and no matter how much Zim stared, he couldn't figure out why.

…

Gaz gave Zim his cruiser part back and Zim left downstairs to fix it, leaving Dib to watch TV alone. Gaz went home, taking Gir with her for some odd reason no one could figure out. Zim worked long and hard downstairs. When the cruiser was finally back together, he went upstairs to celebrate, calling out to Dib. But Dib didn't answer. Zim went into the kitchen, which was basically in the middle of the house. "DIB!" Zim yelled at he top of his lungs. His antennae twitched, trying desperately to pick up some sort of sound.

He walked into the living room. The TV was still on, Dib never left it on. And the door was open. Gaz had taken Gir with her, so…Gir didn't leave it open. Zim took in everything around. Something was terribly wrong. The shower wasn't on, so Zim didn't even bother looking there. "Computer!" Zim called out.

"Yeah…" The computer sighed.

"Were there intruders?" Zim asked, looking up at the wires and cords that made up the computer.

"Uh-huh," It answered.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Zim screamed at it.

"The human kid knew…" It said, making up an excuse.

"Well…where is Dib right now?" Zim asked, attempting to calm himself down, getting mad at the computer would solve nothing and he knew it.

"I dunno," It answered. Zim shook in anger, the computer wasn't helping at all. "Some other humans came and they all left," The computer told him, realizing that now wasn't the time to be lazy with Zim.

"Who were they?" Zim asked. The computer sighed and instead of saying it didn't know, it lowered a large screen from above and played back footage from earlier. Zim watched in horror as three large men in black suits walked right in, breaking the door easily. They assaulted Dib, who attempted to make noise but was shut up by the largest man. They knocked Dib out and left with him as quickly as they came in. Zim wondered who these men were and wondered why in the hell they thought they would get away with stealing _his_ Dib.

…

…

…

Oh no! They pissed Zim off! Run! Haha anyway, hope you have enjoyed this chapter of relaxation! Tons and tons of drama headed straight for you, muahahahha! –cough- anyway, thanks everyone for comments reviews and everything. They make me all happy inside :)

Bleh, I must sleep now, I am turning into a zombie, mawww!


	9. Lost

Chapter Nine: Lost

Zim brought out his communicator and called for Gir. "Yes, master!" Gir chirped happily.

"Gir, I wish to speak with the human girl, now!" Zim yelled.

"What's the magic word?" Gir asked. Zim growled, he had no patience for Gir's idiotic nonsense. Gir tilted the screen.

"What do you want?" Gaz asked, her mood almost as bad as Zim's, almost.

"The Dib has been taken," Zim told her. He expected her to be more worried, instead she laughed.

"'Bout time," She said. Zim glared at her. She put her game down to look him in the eye.

"The Dib is related to you by blood…I don't know what that means, but I assume you do," Zim started off, "You know more about earth than I do. You will comply in helping me find him. Now EARTH-RAT!" Gaz actually winced. Zim cared more than she thought.

"No way…I have better things to do," Gaz said, refusing to help even her brother. Zim just grinned, causing Gaz to worry a little.

"If you don't help…I'll have to use my biggest weapon on you," Zim warned her.

"Go ahead and try," Gaz challenged. Zim just laughed.

"Hey, Gir?" Zim called, "It's been a long time since you sang the doom song isn't it?" Gir perked up and looked around.

"YEAH!" He squealed. Zim muted the monitor as Gir started spouting his words of doom. Zim waved at Gaz and ended the transmission. She looked thoroughly confused but not worried. But she would be, Zim knew. He waited for her inevitable call. It came thirty minutes later.

"Make. Him. Shut. Up," Gaz growled, her hands over her ears. Gir was sitting on her head, still singing.

"Will you help?" Zim asked.

"YES!" Gaz yelled.

"Gir!" Zim yelled. Gir stopped and looked at Zim. "Muffins," Zim uttered. Gir brightened up and ran off to make muffins, screeching the whole way. Gaz sighed in relief.

"Eh…fine…get over here then…" She said, completely unsure of how to react. "And before you go all psycho? Remember that our dad doesn't know you're alien, put on your disguise," Gaz said, just as Zim was walking out the door. Zim growled, but slipped the projector on and rushed to Gaz's house.

Zim knocked on Gaz's door, not knowing what to expect. She swung the door open wearing some sort of latex dress. It reminded Zim of the time she came to rescue Dib from Zim. He shivered, Gaz was scary sometimes, but Zim was scarier at the moment and they both knew it. Gaz put on a show of not caring though. She let Zim in and watched the clip of Dib's capture Zim brought.

"Hmm, I wonder who these guys are," Gaz pondered. She zoomed in on one and examined his suit. Zim looked over too, wondering what she was looking for. "Dad!" Gaz yelled. She strode towards his office. Zim followed hesitantly, could the man really be so ignorant as to not recognize him?

"Yes, Gaz!" The man yelled in his booming voice. He came out of his lab to face Gaz. She held up the screen, showing him the close up of the suited man.

"Who is that?" Gaz asked, "Who does he work for?" Professor Membrane looked at the screen for a moment and then started to laugh.

"Ah Gaz, that's a government official! Are you going to go into law enforcement?" The professor asked, hands on his hips, peering down at Gaz.

"Sure," Gaz said offhandedly. Prof. Membrane looked proud that his daughter was going into something real, instead of something paranormal.

"Wait, you young boy," The professor said loudly, pointing at Zim. Zim stopped and stared at the man. Was the stupid man finally recognizing him for who he was? Was Zim caught? It was all over, Zim could see himself on an autopsy table, his guts being ripped out…again.

"Y-yes," Zim replied.

"Aren't you that foreign kid Dib hangs out with?" He asked.

"Uh-huh," Zim said.

"Fez, wasn't it?" He asked.

"Uh-huh," Zim said again. He couldn't believe it.

"Ah yes, I knew I remembered you from somewhere! Good to see you!" The professor waved and walked away mumbling to himself, "Nice to see Dib still has friends."

Zim stood awkwardly for a moment. The human race was really dumb. Every moment he thought they were okay, they proved themselves idiotic. He went to stand next to Gaz who was looking things up on Dib's computer. "What are you-"

Gaz cut him off. "I'm looking to see what a government official like this really does. Dib looks at this stuff all the time," Gaz explained. Zim wondered why one of Dib's computers would be left at his house. He ignored it, Dib must have just forgotten it. "Wow…this is ironic…" Gaz mumbled.

"What is?" Zim asked.

"It says here…that those men who took Dib, they work for area 51…." Gaz whispered. Area 51. Zim had heard of that somewhere, but couldn't recall it. He didn't know why they would want Dib.

"What's that? Who are they?" Zim asked. After he spoke Gaz sighed deeply. She definitely hated the whole situation.

"Area 51 is a secret place in the dessert where government people take aliens and keep them hidden from humans," Gaz explained. So the government helped aliens stay out of sight, that seemed like a good thing to Zim.

"Why would they want Dib?" Zim asked. Dib wasn't the alien here.

"They must have gotten you and him confused. I think they saw you as human and Dib as the alien…" Gaz said. "I wonder how much they'll experiment on him before they realize he's human," Gaz pondered, enjoying the thought.

"Wait…experiment…" Zim echoed. Area 51 was where they experimented on aliens? All of a sudden it all flooded into his memory, he saw a movie on TV once where they took aliens to 51…and the things they did… Zim yelled in rage and fury, scaring Gaz a little. "NO! We will get Dib back!" Zim yelled. Gaz looked over at him.

"Fine…but don't be so LOUD!" Gaz yelled back at him. Zim stared at her then looked away.

"How are we going to get to Area 51?" Zim asked. He knew they could take the voot cruiser, but going to a place that hunted aliens by using alien technology…that wouldn't be very smart.

Gaz grinned. "I have an idea…" She hissed malevolently. Zim watched her stalk back to Prof. Membrane…who was in the kitchen making toast. The man really loved his toast.

"Daaaaad," Gaz moaned, "I wanna go to the Law Enforcement Convention in Arizona." Gaz leaned on his arm the way she did when she really wanted something.

"Law enforcement! Of course my daughter! I'll send for a limo right away!" Professor Membrane shouted. Gaz and Zim sat at the table and waited. Zim was starting to relax, humans weren't smart enough to see what he was, no need to worry anymore. A beep came from outside. Gaz dragged Zim and Gir along to the limo.

"Hn," Zim hummed. So a limo was a transport unit. It was long, black, and shiny.

"Get in," Gaz growled, as if she were kidnapping him. Zim slid into the seat and looked around. It was luxurious for sure. It reminded Zim of one of the Tallest's fine ships. There were snack and TV screens.

"How long will it take to get there?" Zim asked. Gaz shrugged and pulled out one of her games. Gir watched the Angry Monkey show. Zim wondered what he should do. He resorted to looking out the window. It really was ironic that they took Dib instead of him. Zim wondered what would make these people think Dib wasn't human. Maybe it was just a simple mix up. Or someone could have called them in…someone could have framed Dib. Zim panicked at the thought, but calmed down at realizing they knew no one who would actually do that. Zim let himself get lost in his thoughts.

He pulled out of his thoughts when they suddenly stopped. He looked out the window to see where they were. He shuddered, the place reminded him of when he got lost in Mexico with Gir. "Where are we?" Zim asked, "Are we near this…Arizona?"

Gaz looked at some screen that pulled down from the ceiling. "No…we're in Nevada…but since you don't know anything, we're not there yet," Gaz told him.

"Then why did _the_ _limo_ stop?" Zim asked irritably.

"I don't know…" Gaz growled. She got up and strode to the black panel in the front. "Hey!" She yelled, pushing a button on the roof that made the black glass slide down. "Why'd we stop?" Gaz asked, punching one fist into her other hand in a threatening fashion.

"I-I don't know, I think the engine broke," The driver stuttered. Gaz turned full around.

"You!" She yelled, pointing at Zim, "Fix it!" Zim just stared at her. He knew nothing about cars, and neither did Gir. How was he supposed to fix it?

"B-but, Gaz-"

"We're stranded in the middle of a hot desert with no way home…do you want me to make you wish I'd never been born?" She said, standing in front of him.

"…no…" He said, giving in. "Come on Gir…" Zim ordered.

"But the angry monkey…" Gir wined.

"Gir stays in the car…" Gaz said, pulling Gir into her lap.

"Then how am I supposed to fix the engine?" Zim asked, exasperated at Gaz's insane demands.

"I think there's some tools in the trunk…" The driver suggested.

Zim sighed, he knew this would come to no good. "Fine. You, limo-slave!" The driver twitched, realizing he'd driven two hotheads into the desert. "Come with me!" Zim ordered. Zim got out and realized how freakishly hot it was in the desert. He nearly passed out just leaving the car. He slid his heavy jacket off and left it on the roof of the limo.

Irk was a cold planet that revolved around a dwarf star. The Irkens lived and trained far below the surface, near the warm center. Earth's sun was huge and hot. This particular region was terrible, he was already starting to sweat, and that hardly ever happened. The driver man led Zim to the trunk and pulled out a heavy bag of metal tools that had been next to a tire and handed them to Zim. They went to the front and opened the hood.

Zim gasped at the tons of wires and boxes and things that lay in the front of the limo. "H-heh, you know what's wrong with it…right?" the driver asked nervously. Zim had the impulse to pull out a huge tool from the bag and beat the driver with it. But he didn't, he just looked at the mess of things and tried to decipher what was what. It was a lot different from the voot cruiser, which he'd fixed dozens of times.

…

Gaz watched Gir sitting in her lap, the excitable little robot was in sleep mode. He was adorable in his green dog suit. She vaguely pondered why she was in a limo headed to Arizona right now. Oh right, Dib. Also Zim, he practically forced her to come, threatening her with Gir's annoying doom songs. Was that the only reason she'd come. Or was it because in a way…she cared for her brother. Sure, he was annoying, but he wasn't all bad.

She was just saying that because she didn't have to live with him anymore, and because she was hungry. She downed some nachos and started to feel better, more angst ridden. Her hate for all life came back. She hated her brother to the core again. She hated everything, except for Gir. He was a robot, he was okay. And he always hid snacks in his head, which was helpful when she started to love things. She would just eat things from his head and feel hate again. Gir was great.

The door opened and Zim stood before her looking hot and angry. He had taken his shirt and gloves off, it being so hot out, and he was now covered randomly with oil splotches. Gaz had to admit, she could see the reason Dib fell for the obnoxious alien. Zim had lean muscles all over, pale scars marking him here and there. At least Zim hadn't taken off his disguise in his anger, it would have freaked the driver out. Zim sat in the air conditioned car, fury rolling off of him. His sweat dripped on the fine leather seats. Gaz made an "ew" face and inched away from Zim.

"So…fixed?" Gaz asked irritably. Zim glared at her, implying a no. Gaz sighed. "Well, how in the hell are we supposed to get home?" Zim thought about that for a moment.

He pointed out the window, "We walk?" Gaz nearly threw Gir at Zim's head.

"Walk? Are you kidding? Walk out in that heat!" Gaz yelled. The heat was already getting to her, and she was in the air conditioning.

"What else do we do?" Zim asked, raising his voice at her.

…

Zim stumbled on the cracked ground. "Earth is stupid…" He mumbled.

"Tell me about it," Gaz sighed next to him. They had ended up walking anyway. Zim was shirtless, his pak simply attacked with no visual explanation as to why it was there. Zim figured humans wouldn't even notice. Even if they did, they would be distracted by the girl next to him holding up a green dog with a fan coming out of its head. Gaz held Gir up to her face with a fan blowing right on her. Zim, meanwhile, was sweating his ass off in the heat, and he doubted Gaz would let him borrow Gir.

They'd left the driver to freeze in the limo air conditioning. He didn't want to risk the car being stolen, even though Zim doubted anyone would steal it since it was in the middle of a desert. Just as Zim was loosing hope that they'd find anywhere, he saw lights ahead. It was only on the horizon, but the lights were bright and colorful. "G-Gaz, look!" Zim said, getting excited.

"Yeah, yeah. I see it…Las Vegas," Gaz sighed. Zim had never heard of Las Vegas, but it looked great, considering he was dying of heat. "Gir is great…" Gaz said happily. Zim glared at her enviously.

"No…ZIM is great!" He yelled at her. She glared back.

"Yeah right…not even your own species wants you," Gaz retaliated and continued to enjoy the air Gir was obliviously blowing. That remark shut Zim up. He put his hands in his pockets and looked down. It was true what she'd said. Maybe Zim really wasn't so great. He couldn't even protect the one person who needed him. And now on the rescue mission to get said person, he'd screwed up again and now had no idea where to go to find Dib. "Hey…stoppit…" Gaz growled.

"Huh," Zim said, snapping out of his thoughts to look at Gaz. Zim realized the angry red sun was setting now. Darkness was slowly creeping on them.

"Stop…being sad," Gaz mumbled under her breath. As the heat began to dissipate, she tucked Gir under her arm and gazed at the sky. "You…you're not soooo bad…" Gaz whispered, as if saying kind things burned her throat.

"uh….thanks…" Zim whispered back. What in the heck did Gaz mean, not so bad? Zim looked towards the city lights, they seemed so close and yet so distant at the same time. This was one step closer to being with Dib again. Zim wanted to hold him close and smell him, that wonderful human Irken mix. He hoped Dib was still alive, still there. What would he do without Dib? His mission was over…stupid earth things like Skool didn't matter to him, so what else was there but Dib? He could help Dib prove that things were real. Maybe he wasn't very good at it, as was proved at the haunted house the last time they tried to find ghosts. But Zim could try, if anything, he could persuade people to listen to Dib. That seemed like a good idea. Zim and Dib would be a paranormal team. Human and Irken proving the existence of…paranormal things, all over the globe. Zim smiled at the idea.

It took forever, but they finally found the streets of this nighttime city. That's when Gaz gave ground rules. "Okay, time for some rules while we're here, okay?"

"Zim follows NO ONE'S RULE!" Zim yelled.

"YOU WILL RIGHT NOW!" Gaz yelled just as loud. Good thing they weren't in the city yet.

Zim back off a little. "K…" He submitted.

"If you see something interesting or colorful that you want to inspect. Don't. Got it?" Gaz asked in a serious tone. "Just stay with me."

"Um, okay," Zim said. He scratched his head. What could be so interesting that it would distract him?

"Rule two, don't talk to anyone. You're pretty hot if you didn't know that, so people will be talking to you. They'll be asking you things. Don't talk back, got it?" Gaz instructed.

"Hot?" Zim asked. Gaz glared at him. "Yeah, yeah, got it. Don't talk…" Zim sighed.

"Third rule. If we loose Gir…you DIE!" Gaz yelled, "Got it?" She asked, perfectly calm again. Zim only nodded. He pulled Gir's leash out of his pak and snapped it on him. Gaz snatched the leash away from Zim harshly.

"Is that all?" Zim asked nervously.

"I suppose…stay close. This city is dangerous," Gaz warned him as she stomped away, holding Gir's leash. Unlike when Zim took him out, Gir walked right alongside Gaz. She certainly was more than what met the eye, as humans tended to say. Zim ran and caught up with her.

"How is it dangerous?" Zim asked.

Gaz eyed him a moment then looked towards the city they were about to enter. "This place is known to eat people's souls," She said hollowly. Zim shuddered. It ate souls? How? Why? Were they about to lose their souls? Wait a second…

"Gaz…?" Zim said. Gaz looked at him irritably, wanting him to shut up and stop asking things. "What are souls?" Zim asked. Gaz did growl, scream, cry thing of irritation and fury.

"Ask Dib!" Gaz yelled, at which point Zim decided quiet was key now. He shut down his questions and focused on observing the city. They were passing by houses that seemed normal, normal to Zim anyway. After a while they started to see tall buildings. There shone bright against the dark sky. Then they started to see tons of colorful lights, the ones Zim had seen on the horizon. Zim read the weird things they said. He thought they were ridiculous, but they probably meant something to the humans, so he kept his mouth shut. There were tons of lit up signs, and moving signs, and sounds going off everywhere, and all kinds of people. Zim having his pak showing and having a green dog was nothing on what the people here were like. It seemed so bizarre. There were women wearing clothing that provided no protection by being so tiny and revealing, some even had large feathers coming out of them.

Everything was going okay, and then Zim saw them. There were some women standing by a corner. Their appearance confused Zim to no end, they looked primed like most young women, but they definitely weren't young. They were just standing and talking, but they had this look like a predator, they were scanning the crowd of people judgingly. It scared Zim a little, but then he remembered that an Irken is never afraid of such weak beings like humans. He stood straight and walked with pride, keeping his hands in his pockets.

"Hey little guy," One woman called as they passed, "Why don't you come over here, mm?" Gaz looked back at Zim, wondering if he was whom she meant. As they got closer to cross the street, the rest of the women began to notice Zim. They all started to coo at him and make purring noises and cat poses.

"Eh…Gaz…" Zim said nervously, not sure what these women where up to.

"Ignore them," Gaz hissed, "Stay within five feet of me." Zim didn't know what would happen. He was trying to show that he could fend off these people, but they didn't seem to care. No, the more he showed his strength…the more they cooed and purred and reached out for him. How perplexing. Gaz noticed their weird motions too and looked behind her at Zim. She gasped and stopped walking. "Zim!" She whispered angrily, "Stop doing that!" She looked appalled and angry at the same time. He was really going to have questions for Dib later. Zim didn't know what to stop exactly, but as Gaz turned and started walking again, Zim just walked like he normally did. This seemed to set the women off even more. Soon Zim stood side by side with the women. Gaz stood on the curb and Zim just behind her, waiting for the walking sign to cross the street.

One woman ran her fingers down Zim's back, giving him chills. It had been hot earlier, but now Zim really wished he had something on, maybe that would keep the strangers at bay. "Hey, little man, what's this thing on your back?" The woman asked in Zim's ear from behind.

"D-don't touch it," Zim warned them.

"Pf, fine with me. Everyone has their little secrets, don't we?" She cooed. Another woman came to Zim's right and attached herself to Zim's shoulder, and another to his left. The one on the right was rubbing Zim's chest, the one on the left was raking his sides, the one behind him was clawing his backside. The rest of the women crowded around, trying to touch him, some succeeding. Zim had chills all over. He wanted the women gone.

"Come back with me, sweetie, we'll have fun," One cooed. "No, with me little guy, I just love kinky things like you," Another one said. They kept taunting him with jests that he didn't understand. A nervous trickle of sweat ran down his face. He wanted to run out into the road and get away from the women, but there was too much traffic, and he wasn't quite that stupid.

Gaz started to turn around to tell him something. "Zim do you-" She looked at Zim's position. He was tensed up with women clinging to him for no apparent reason. Gaz's face turned pink and she put her hand over her mouth, her eyes were wide. Zim heard an electronic beep, saw that the traffic was clear and ran for his life. The entanglement of women that were on him nearly fell on each other.

When Zim made it to the other side he looked back to see Gaz walking across with Gir in no rush at all. Zim made motions for them to hurry, but Gaz just raised her middle finger…what Zim took be an offensive gesture. When she finally got to the other side she smacked Zim hard on the back of the head. "Idiot," She muttered.

"What?" Zim asked, not seeing how anything he did made him an idiot in any way.

"When I told you to stop, that meant stop teasing the cougars," Gaz told him angrily.

"Cougars?" Zim echoed.

"Ask Dib…" Gaz growled, not wanting to talk about cougars anymore, which Zim was fine with. They walked along the sidewalk for a while, surrounded by strange looking people, when Gaz suddenly burst out laughing.

"W-what?" Zim asked, he was afraid of whatever might make Gaz laugh to malevolently that way, but he wanted to know anyway.

"Nothing just…you're face!" Gaz burst out again, bending over laughing, a hand to her gut like she was trying to hold the laughter in. Gir suddenly started laughing too, but Zim was pretty sure Gir had no idea why. "W-when you had cougars all over you…you…you were red all over! And-and you were like, trying not to move! It was so funny!" Gaz yelled and laughed at the same time. Zim winced; he didn't think that incident was very funny at all. The women had been very creepy.

Zim chose no to spoil Gaz's fun though, she hardly ever looked so happy. They kept going and eventually came to a huge building with Professor Membrane's face on it. Gaz went in and called someone. Soon a limo came and took them back to Gaz's house. And of course, she didn't bother to mention that Zim needed a shirt. So he froze in the limo as Gaz continued her game and Gir watched TV. Zim really wished Dib were there to make him warm. Zim put his face in his hands as he realized he failed yet another mission, he utterly failed to bring Dib back. Now Dib was probably in pieces somewhere and Zim would never find him again.

His shoulders started to shake and shiver, though he didn't know why, it wasn't from cold, Irk was much colder than this. And wetness came from his eyes, though it didn't burn because it was his own wetness. It felt like there was nothing in his chest anymore, just a big black hole. Dib was dead and there was nothing Zim could do about it. Zim would never smell Dib again or hold him or ask him what cougars were and why they attacked Zim. Zim would never know why Dib stared at him, and Dib would never know why Zim watched him sleep all the time and why Zim refused to wake him up.

"Hey…hey, stop," Gaz said hollowly. Zim couldn't stop, he whimpered softly, wanting to stop, but he couldn't. He didn't even know what he was doing, but he just felt so empty inside that he couldn't stop. "Zim…it's not so bad…" Gaz said quietly. She put her game down and stared at Zim, perplexed. She never expected this, she thought Irkens were emotionless. She had no idea what to do, comfort Zim or slap him for weakness and torturing her ears. In the end she did neither and just watched Gir play on the floor, She had the driver take them by Zim's house first, she didn't trust Zim to walk home by himself. Dib was dead, and she didn't know how Zim would take that. She didn't even know how she was taking it. She grabbed Gir up and started to eat things from his head.

Zim watched Gaz for a moment, she was eating from Gir's head rapidly. There was wetness coming from her eyes too, but she was ignoring it. She sniffed every once in a while as if trying to hold something in her head. Finally the car stopped in front of Zim's house and Zim got out of the car, glad to finally be back home after such a long night, but he still felt empty.

The car drove away just as Zim opened his door. Zim nearly collapsed. "Zim…why are you crying? And where'd your clothes go? You better not have gone stripping," Dib said teasingly. Zim just stood there for a moment then rushed into Dib's chest, burying himself deep, trying to forget the emptiness that had previously overcome him.

"Jeez, Zim," Dib sighed in a comforting tone, "I didn't think you'd even notice I was gone…" Dib wrapped his arms around Zim and held him close, assuring him he was real and not dead at all. Zim looked up, smelling Dib deeply.

"I thought you were dead…" Zim admitted. Dib looked taken back, but not overly surprised. Zim told Dib everything about how he and Gaz went out to find him.

"You…you did all that for me..?" Dib asked, he never knew anyone would do that much for him. Zim wiped all the wetness away from his face.

"It was empty…without you…" Zim whispered. They were sitting on the couch now, the door still wide open. But they didn't care about that, they cuddled together without caring who saw. "How did you get back?" Zim asked curiously.

"Well…The FBI captured me here…and they _did_ take me to Area 51, they thought he was an alien. But then they realized I was human…they asked me some questions and brought me back home," Dib explained. "They don't even think you're an alien."

Zim stared up at Dib in shock. "So…we went all that way…for nothing?" Zim asked.

"Pretty much," Dib said, laughing a little at Zim's expression. Oh if only he knew what Zim had to go through, Dib wouldn't be laughing. But Zim ignored that and pushed himself into Dib's chest, happy to be home at last with the only other bearable being in the world.

…

…

…

…

Yay! Don't you just love happy, yet ironic endings! I do, muahahah! Ahem, anyway.

:P I was on youtube (Cuz I have no life) And I saw this thing, this guy made a video, 50 things about me, he did it to let people who watched his video get to know him a little better. And because I'm obsessed with making annoying videos and have no life, I thought I'd make a video for people on fanfiction! Yay, the annoying video-ness! Ahem, anyway. So what kind of stuff would you guys want to see in a video? Questions…random, creepy facts, suggestions, requests,. I could just talk about the world of Invader Zim if you want. I really have no life, so whatever you guys wanna see! Ahem, see you guys later! The next chapter will hopefully be posted soon :)


	10. Truth

Chapter Ten: Truth

Zim laid on Dib's chest. For once when they were on the couch at the same time, the TV wasn't on. Zim just let Dib wrap his arms around him. Zim clung to Dib's arms, just in case Dib let go the slightest bit, Zim wasn't about to lose what he'd just got back. Dib let his head rest on Zim's head. The human seemed tired after the day. Zim wasn't tired in the least, because of his pak. He was pretty cold though, no one had been home all day to turn on the heater. But that was okay, Zim liked the cold. And even if he didn't, he had Dib to keep him warm.

After a few minutes Dib started to move his arm. Zim shut his eyes and kept Dib still. "I'm not going anywhere, Zim, trust me," Dib whispered. Zim waited for a minute, thinking about it, then let Dib's arm free. If the human tried to run, Zim would just tackle him or something to keep him at bay. Zim felt the metal projector around his neck move, then it was gone, replaced by Dib's lips. Zim could feel his undisguised antennae brush Dib's head.

"You know…your head's…not _so_ big," Zim admitted to Dib, who just chuckled lightly.

"And you're not _so_ destructive…" Dib said. Zim couldn't tell if that was a compliment or insult, he quite liked destroying things, but he just pretended it was a compliment, if only so Dib would keep snuggling close. Dib rubbed Zim's antenna softly. "So…you went to the desert..?" Dib asked. "That must have been fun." Zim snorted.

"It was hot…" He mumbled. Dib chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, I can tell," He said, rubbing Zim's bare back. Dib's hands were warm to Zim, so he snuggled closer to the warmth. True, Irkens were more used to the cold over the heat, but sometimes a little warmth was nice. "This is nice…" Dib sighed. Zim nodded, burying himself a little deeper in Dib. "We should do this more often…" Zim nodded, going deeper. After a while, Dib nodded off. Zim looked up at the sleeping human. Zim took Dib's glasses off and set them on the arm of the chair. Dib really did look so peaceful when he slept. Zim only wished he could figure out how to sleep.

He tried, he made his mind slow down. He relaxed completely, trying vainly to meld into Dib's sleep world. But he was still awake. Was sleeping like being knocked out? Maybe it was, then Zim could just knock himself out. But he had the feeling that if he did, then Dib would be mad at him. Zim just stayed where he was, watching Dib sleep, wanting so badly to sleep alongside him. After a while, Zim looked down and played with Dib's pant zipper. Not because he was wanting inside the pants, like most humans did when they played with one another's pants, like Zim had seen on TV. Zim was just bored and zippers were quite movable and gave the slightest entertainment when someone was bored.

"Zim…" Dib said groggily, "Why are you doing that?" Zim looked up at the sleepy Dib and blushed.

"It's…fun," Zim said quietly, leaving the zipper alone. Zim put his head back on Dib's chest and waited for Dib to wake up all the way. "Dib…" Zim whispered, waiting until Dib was awake enough to listen, "I know why I never wake you up…you get mad but…humans sleep a lot and…Irkens don't. I don't know how long humans sleep…and Dib…you just…look so sweet asleep…"

Dib stared down at the little Irken on him, Zim had just made a huge admission. Dib felt like Zim just opened himself up. He admitted to thinking Dib was sweet asleep. It made Dib feel light inside. Zim looked guilty, Dib knew it was because Irkens never showed emotion in any situation. Zim really was becoming more human. Dib decided it was time he showed some humanity as well. "Zim…you know all those times I stared at you…and I would never tell you why…. Well…that was because, you're just so amazing that I can't help but stare…" Zim looked up at Dib, who thought Zim's expression was priceless, it was much more innocent than Dib had ever seen on the alien's face before.

"Zim…amazing?" Zim asked. Dib just smiled and nodded. Zim grinned. "Of course I am!" Zim yelled quietly.

"Yes, you are…" Dib said, petting Zim on the head. Zim curled deeper into Dib. "You know…we're not so different…you and I," Dib told Zim. A thousand years ago, Dib would never be nice to an alien so different from humans, but now…he was starting to think humans weren't the only ones who could love.

"Yeah…we're both amazing…" Zim said happily. A thousand years ago, Zim would have never admitted to anyone else being his equal, but now…he was beginning to think someone has surpassed him. Dib held Zim closer, they were both learning things that they never thought possible.

"You know, Zim-" Dib started, but an abrupt knock stopped him. It was really late, who would be at the door.

"Zim!" Gaz yelled, opening the door for herself, "You took it all pretty bad so…" Dib watched her come in, her eyes were a bit red and she was carrying a six pack of beer. She stared at her brother in shock. "You…didn't…call…me…?" She yelled, gritting her teeth. Zim and Dib could both feel the heat of her intense anger.

"Well, Gaz…you have to understand…" Dib started, getting up from the couch. Zim let him go, knowing it wasn't worth Gaz's wrath.

"I don't want to understand," Gaz growled, "You love your boyfriend more, I don't really care."

"Gaz, he's not…!" Dib started, but he couldn't finish the sentence, honestly wondering if Zim was or wasn't his boyfriend now. Zim just watched, wondering if Gaz would attack them. Gaz suddenly grinned, thinking of something horrible. It scared both Dib and Zim.

"You know," Gaz said sweetly, "You still have to explain this to dad?" Dib stared at her, he had completely forgotten about that. "I mean, he just thinks you're in the loony place again. He doesn't know about…" Gaz motioned at Zim, who was completely confused.

"Oh god…" Dib moaned and put his hand to his forehead. Gaz laughed maniacally and left, leaving the beer on the floor. "I didn't even think about that…"

"What?" Zim asked. He sat on the couch with his hands between his legs, trying to understand why Dib was frustrated.

"My dad doesn't know that…that I've been living with you," Dib told him. An antenna rose, Zim still didn't understand.

"Who cares if he knows or not," Zim said, trying to pull Dib back to the couch.

"I do," Dib sighed in frustration and walked off to the kitchen. Zim sat, staring after him in confusion. It matter to Dib what the parental unit thought? Then Zim would do everything in his power to make Dib's parental unit accept of this.

…

Zim wandered into Dib's room, not having been in it very many times. It was okay, Zim would have to build something bigger though. "Zim…what are you doing in here?" Dib asked behind him.

"Eh…" Zim stood there awkwardly, his antenna twitching a little in discomfort. "Making sure all the rooms…meet the standards…" Zim said, making up an excuse.

"Whatever," Dib said, getting close to Zim, wrapping his arms around Zim's waist. He could just sleep there if he relaxed. He doubted Zim would let him, so he didn't.

"We'd make a nice team, huh?" Zim asked, taking Dib by surprise.

"What do you mean?" Dib asked, looking down at Zim's face. At this closeness, Dib realized that Zim was still just a bit shorter than him, by about four inches or so.

"In your…para…whatever it is. You know, ghosts and bigfeets and that stuff," Zim said happily, "I can be your teammate and help."

"Zim…that's sort of a…lone wolf job, you know?" Dib said awkwardly. Zim looked at him like he was crazy.

"But Dib…you're not a wolf…you're a human," Zim pointed out.

Dib chuckled lightly. "I know Zim, that's not what I mean," Dib told him, Zim looked like he was about to get very mad. "Um, I just mean that it's a job for one person…for one person to do alone…" Zim stared at Dib thinking about that.

"What am I supposed to do then?" Zim asked. Dib thought about that.

"I dunno…just…wait for your own calling I guess…you'll figure it out," Dib said tiredly. It was a long day and he was getting drowsy.

Zim watched Dib snooze lightly while still standing. He was disappointed about the para-thing…but Dib was right, it wasn't Zim's purpose. He probably already knew that. But now he would actually have to find something to do. He placed Dib on his bed and left, going down to his lab to find something else to do. Repair something maybe.

…

Dib laid in his bed, sleeping soundly, without a single dream even, when a suddenly peal of thunder woke him. He sat straight up, wondering for a minute what had woken him. He got up and wandered into the kitchen. By the time he grabbed some orange juice and sat down he had just assumed he was having a bad dream and that was why he woke up. But as he was putting the glass away in the sink, he happened to look out the window.

The sky was a mess of black and gray clouds, in the distance there was far off lightning flashing. Dib stared at it aghast long enough to figure out that the storm was headed straight for them. "C-Computer!" Dib yelled.

"…yes…?" The computer said lazily, not wanting to be bothered.

"Shut down the base!" Dib yelled in a command. The computer hesitated.

"Only Zim can make me do that…" The computer finally decided. Dib cursed and ran for the elevator and ventured down to find Zim. Dib had learned, while living with his dad during his 'weather related phase' that when a huge electrical storm came, it was wise to shut all electric stuff down. That would normally mean just computers, which wasn't much of a hassle. But in Zim's case, that meant his whole base, which Dib didn't know if he'd let him do that. Finally Dib found Zim fiddling with something or other.

"Zim!" Dib yelled. Zim looked up in surprise with those big red eyes of his.

"Dib! What is it?" Zim asked, shocked that Dib would run down here yelling while half naked. He had to admit, he was aroused, but he pushed that aside and wondering what was causing Dib to panic.

"T-There's a huge electric storm coming!" Dib yelled, catching his breath.

"So?" Zim said, relaxing a little.

"We have to shut down the base, Zim!" Dib said frantically.

"Why?" Zim asked.

"Just trust me!" Dib yelled, getting fed up. Zim winced and started to get angry. Dib immediately regretted yelling, but Zim calmed down and ordered the computer to let Dib shut the base down. "T-thanks…Zim…" Dib said quietly, then left to manually shut the base down.

…

Zim watched Dib run around, shutting things off since the computer was too lazy to do it himself. How foolish to shut everything off just because of a storm. But he trusted Dib, he'd been on earth longer, earth storms could be different. But Zim had seen earth storms before and they hadn't affected his equipment. But Dib was worried, so Zim let him do these things to reassure the human. As Dib was in the lower part of the base, Zim snuck onto the roof. The clouds were nearly black with a bluish glow. Some parts even seemed orange. He laid down on the roof, preparing himself for Dib's anger later.

Zim stared up at the sky. The lightning storm didn't scare him in the least. It was directly above and loud as hell. Zim thought the lightning was amazing, the electricity jumping from cloud to cloud. It was supposedly the most dangerous lightning storm. But lying on the roof of his house, Zim wasn't afraid. He didn't see the lightning storm with accompanying thunder as anger. He felt no anger watching it. He thought the bolts of electricity being born and quickly dying as soon as being created was beautiful. It wasn't because all his life since he was born electricity had been his source of life and everything he'd known. It was simply part of him…his soul.

A light breeze blew on Zim's unmasked face. At least it wasn't raining. It was just a lightning storm, no rain. "What are you doing?" A wary voice called from across the roof. Zim watched as Dib ambled toward him and laid on the roof next to him. He had put a shirt on.

"Watching," Zim answered.

"I'd tell you to put your disguise on, but I think you're the only one crazy enough to be on a roof during a lightning storm," Dib told him.

"It's not crazy…it's beautiful," Zim told him, completely at peace with the world.

"I guess," Dib said, falling into silence. The two watched the white hot streaks of pure energy dance and crackle in the sky. It was surprisingly cool compared to how hot the day had been.

Zim watched the light flash on Dib's face. In between the flashes there would be pitch dark. Zim watched as Dib's face came in and out of visibility.

"It is nice, isn't it…" Dib said lightly, mesmerized by the show above them.

"Yes, Dib…it is. All of life is composed of electricity, you know. You humans, as well as Irkens."

"Hmm."

"It's peaceful, really," Zim said.

"Uh-huh," Dib agreed, "Weird how loud and bright it can be, yet so serene."

"Uh-huh," Zim agreed.

Dib looked over at Zim. "I really do like you better green," Dib commented, touching Zim's antennae softly.

"How long you wanna watch?" Zim asked, turning to Dib.

"Till it's over," Dib answered. Zim smiled at Dib as he scooted over into Dib's arms. He laid his head on Dib's warm chest. They continued to watch the storm. Zim knew now that earth was where he belonged, more specifically in this base, in Dib's arms. All doubt of not belonging there vanished.

When the storm finally died down, way later, they simply laid there, staring at the pitch black sky. Only the sound of crickets remained. "I'll have to kill those crickets," Zim whispered, sounding at peace while promising death. It made dib laugh softly.

"No Zim," Dib forbade, hugging Zim a little tighter. After a while the stars came out again. It was a no moon night, so it was still dark. Zim snuggled closer to Dib, never wanting to let go. Dib held Zim tighter, promising he'd never let go, never let him be alone. Zim appreciated dib being there. It really was a nice night. What made them finally go inside was the bright red sun beginning to peak above the horizon.

Zim sat on the couch, out of things to do, and let Dib get some sleep. Zim wondered how long it had been since Dib slept, but Dib would know when he'd had enough sleep, he supposed. An idea rang inside of Zim's head, remembering what Gaz said the last day. He found a phone and called the Membrane offices, absolutely sure that the crazy man would be up at this hour.

"Hello! How may I help you with REAL SCIENCE?" The professor boomed. Zim held the phone away, keeping the intense volume from hurting his ears. He didn't expect the actual Professor Membrane to answer the phone, but that just made Zim's plan easier.

…

Dib woke up, yet again. He stretched, feeling the energy of a good night's sleep in him. He slipped on his glasses and looked at the clock. "I slept 'til seven!" Dib burst out. How could he sleep until seven at night? Well, he'd been watching that storm with Zim pretty late at night and all. He shrugged and got dressed. Maybe Zim could find something for them to do tonight.

When Dib went into the living room, he nearly passed out. Zim was standing, in disguise, wearing nice looking clothes. But that wasn't what shocked him, it was that Zim was up here at all, and without Dib keeping him up here. "Good, your up," Zim said cheerily, "I thought I was going to have to wake you up." Zim was smiling. Dib was suspicious, why was Zim acting like this all of a sudden.

"Zim…what's going on?" Dib asked.

"Ah, and you're dressed too, good," Zim said to himself, ignoring Dib's question. "Minimoose! Prepare to hold down the house by yourself," Zim said to the little flying moose. Dib hadn't seen the moose in a while, he wondered if that was Gir's fault.

"What about me?" The computer said lazily.

"Yeah, yeah, you can help too," Zim said offhandedly.

"I don't really want to…" The computer said. Zim just waved his hand, already expecting the computer's lazy response.

"Come on Dib," Zim ushered, grabbing Dib's hand and dragging him out the door.

"But…I haven't eaten, Zim, I'm hungry," Dib told him.

"Oh, that's not necessary," Zim said with a smirk. They started walking down the sidewalk out of the neighborhood.

"Why?" Dib asked suspiciously.

"Because…this will be over quickly," Zim said happily.

"Seriously, Zim, where are we going?" Dib asked, getting irritated.

"Someplace familiar," Zim said, suppressing a laugh. Dib decided to just let Zim take him wherever it was they were going, he'd find out soon enough.

…

"Zim…this is stupid…" Dib grumbled.

"Is not," Zim replied. Dib looked at him in curiosity, then turned back to the house in question.

"I'm not doing this, not tonight," Dib said firmly.

"Oh, you will," Zim said maniacally, reminding Dib of when Zim used to plot against him. "You will, and later you'll be thankful for it…"

Dib glared at him. "Whatever…" Dib sighed, slipping his hand in Zim's. "Let's just get this over with…"

Zim grinned in victory and rang the bell of the Membrane household. Gaz answered and glared at them. "'Bout time you got here…Dad's been wondering what you wanna tell him," Gaz growled at them. They heard Professor Membrane shouting somewhere in the house. "Wondering…_loudly_…" Gaz let them in, nearly tripping them out of habit. Zim spied Gir sitting on top of the TV in his dog suit, watching the screen upside down. He wondered how Gaz could stand the little robot for so long.

"There you are son!" Professor Membrane boomed as he walked in.

"H-hey Dad!" Dib said, actually getting excited to see his Dad. He hadn't seen him in months. They hugged for a millisecond and Membrane looked at his son expectantly.

"So son, what is you have to tell me?" Membrane asked loudly. Gaz wandered off to the kitchen silently, and Zim sat on the couch happily. Dib bet Zim set the whole thing up. What was Dib supposed to tell his dad? What did he feel towards Zim anyway? Were they dating? Were they a couple, were they in love? Dib nearly passed out from trying to figure it out. He glared at Zim, wishing he'd let Dib know before they came so they could talk about it. Zim just looked confused, not understanding why Dib was mad.

"You know, why don't we talk about it over dinner, Dad?" Dib suggested, "I'd love to hear about your latest projects." Professor Membrane beamed at the idea, proud that his son was interested in science. Dib was just glad he'd bought himself some time.

Zim sat in shock, dinner? He hadn't planned for that. He would be expected to eat _earth food_…. He'd have to punish Dib for this somehow. He watched the parental unit leave to the kitchen and watched as Dib stood over him, glaring. "What?" Zim asked.

"You know what…" Dib whispered, so the others wouldn't hear, "What am I supposed to tell him?"

"Tell him…whatever it is you're supposed to tell him…" Zim said, unsure of what it was that humans wanted from their parental units.

"I would but…what are we, even?" Dib asked, exasperated. Zim knew the answer to this one.

"I am Irken…and you are human," Zim said, proud to know the answer to _one _of Dib's questions.

Dib sighed dramatically and flopped onto the couch next to Zim. "No…" He breathed out. "You don't know what a relationship is…do you?" Dib finally realized.

"Hmm, of course I do!" Zim said, offended to think he wouldn't.

"What is it then?" Dib tested.

"Urm…human squishy feelings of _luuuurv_…" Zim spat out after much thought. Dib was surprised Zim knew that part of it at least.

"What would you say if I said I have human squishy feelings of _lurv_ for you?" Dib asked, grabbing onto Zim's hand. Zim looked at their hands for a minute then at Dib, his face growing deep red on his disguised face.

"Eh…I uh…" Zim stuttered, how was he supposed to react? He didn't know how he felt in all this, he was just thinking about Dib's dumb parental unit, he didn't think he'd be affected this way. Dib smiled at Zim's reply. At least they both didn't know what was going on.

"Son! Dinner's ready!" Membrane called from the kitchen. Dib pondered what he'd say as he went to the table and Zim wondered if there was a way to escape this as he followed Dib.

Zim sat in between Gaz and Membrane, and across from Dib. So last minute whispering about what to say was out the window. Membrane placed the meal on the table and Dib and Zim both stared in horror…pork…and beans…the worst possible meal they could have that particular night.

"So, Son!" Membrane yelled, an octave or so lower than usual, "What's been on your mind?"

Dib took some of the food and chose his words carefully. "Well dad…I'm uh…kinda in a relationship…"

"Great!" Membrane boomed at his loudest, causing Gaz's to twitch. "You've finally found someone who can stand your insaneness!"

"Y-yeah…" Dib said quietly, watching Zim scoop some of the beans, avoiding the dreaded pork.

"So how is this relationship going? You mean dating right?" Membrane asked.

"Uh…it's going well…I think…" Dib stalled. "And yeah…I'm pretty sure we're dating."

"Well, that's good! As long as what you're doing is what we consider stalking, then that's very good!" Membrane shouted.

"Eh, yeah, I'm not stalking," Dib said, "Actually, we live in the same house now…"

"Really? So who is the lucky young lady?" Membrane asked, peering closer at Dib. Zim coughed roughly at being called a 'lucky young lady'.

"Eh…it's a…guy…actually…" Dib said awkwardly. He looked over at Zim, surprised to see that Zim had actually eaten the beans. But now, despite the disguise, he was looking a bit green.

"Eh, really? Well, good for you! Taking a stand for what you believe, and I don't mean your para-science when I say that," Membrane said, raising a fist high. Dib really had no idea what his father meant by all that, but he nodded anyway. "So! Who is the lucky guy?" Membrane said again.

"Uhm…Zim-I mean Fez…or uhm…" Dib stumbled on his words. He was calling Zim as Fez when he was still green, maybe his dad wouldn't notice. Dib motioned at Zim sitting across form him, whom Membrane hadn't noticed until now.

"Hm, so this is him! Zim, is it? Well, you look healthy, eating all those beans and all!" Membrane said, approving of Zim with a slap on his back. Zim just turned a deeper shade of green and smiled weakly.

"Yup. I'm normal!" Zim said, with a bit less enthusiasm as usual.

"Why, yes, you are," Membrane noted. "Now son, you said you wanted to hear of my latest projects?" He asked, getting excited about his 'real science'.

"Uh, yeah," Dib said, not paying attention to the scientific things Membrane started spouting off. Instead he looked at Zim, he looked sick, and he was looking down at his empty plate.

"'scuse me…" Zim said quickly, for some reason remembering to be polite. He got up and ran off, clutching his stomach.

"Eh…" Dib wanted to go chase Zim down and make sure he was okay, but he needed to keep his father entertained for the meantime.

"Pff, idiot," Gaz mumbled. She was playing her game, not even eating the beans or pork.

Zim returned, much later, looking wasted. He was still in disguise though, and that was good. He sat just as Professor Membrane was bringing out a model of some sort of spacecraft, he was explaining how it would fly through space.

"That'll never fly…" Zim said offhandedly.

"What? How would you know that?" Professor Membrane asked.

"Well…it doesn't have gliders…or a system of propulsion…" Zim said quietly.

Membrane thought about that while looking at the model. "You know, I think you're right! Are you interested as well, in Dib's _para_-science?" Membrane asked.

Zim glanced at Dib, then back at the model. "…no…" Zim mumbled.

"Then how about working with me! You seem smart enough to handle 'real science'!"

"Um…" Zim thought about the offer. He looked over at Dib who gave a thumbs up. "Sure…" Zim agreed.

"Great!" Membrane shouted, then started to talk about all sorts of inventions he'd been working on.

…

"That was cool…" Dib said, they were walking home, a tired Zim practically hanging off of him.

"I guess…" Zim mumbled.

"You'll be working with my dad, so everything's okay," Dib said optimistically. He looked at Zim, who still looked beat. "You ate the beans…didn't you?"

Zim nodded. "Why?" Dib asked. Zim shrugged, not able to think of an excuse. "To seem normal?" Dib guessed.

"Yeah…" Zim admitted.

"You didn't have to," Dib told him. "You probably could have snuck out or something."

"But I wanted to…to be there with you…" Zim said, "I wasn't going to leave you there with that…_evil human monkey brain_!"

"Hey, watch it. You're going to be working with that monkey brain," Dib warned him. Zim looked away. "You didn't really have to though, Zim."

"Dib…for you, I'd eat stupid human _filth_ any day…" Zim said, not even realizing how romantic that sounded, apart from the filth part. Dib just smiled and held Zim closer.

"We're really going to have to spend more time together now," Dib said. Zim nodded in agreement.

…

…

…

I don't know about you, but this chapter seems very random to me and even longer than what I expected. Oh well. :P Hope you enjoyed

Next chapter, lots of Gir!


	11. Dog

Chapter Eleven: Dog

Warnings: Lots of Gir action! And some lemony goodness. Mmmm

Gaz was busy…something about a gaming tournament, and Gir wasn't allowed to come. "Gir, I can't keep my eye on you today. You have to stay with the boys today, okay?" Gaz instructed to Gir. Gir saluted.

"Yes, earth girl!" Gir barked.

"Good," Gaz said and walked away, game in hand. Gir watched her go sadly, he was spending so much time with Gaz now. Like when Gaz found out that Dib was okay…she held Gir for a very long time. Gir didn't know why she did that, but he liked it when she held him close. Gir turned to face Zim's base. It had been a long time since he'd been there again. He strode in happily and saw Dib on the couch. The Dib looked sad, Gir wanted to know why.

"Puppy-head!" Gir yelled as he slammed into the couch cushion next to Dib. "Why you so sad?" He asked, poking Dib's big head. Dib was watching something on TV with a very sad expression, but the TV people looked happy, why wasn't Dib happy too?

"Oh..Gir," Dib said absently, "I didn't know you'd be here." Dib looked over at Gir. Gir could see sadness all the way in Dib's eyes and the way he slouched.

"Why you so sad, big head?" Gir asked again. Dib winced and turned away.

"Well…I guess it's okay to tell you, since you'll forget in a minute anyway," Dib sighed. Gir watched him expectantly. "I just wish…I wish Zim would spend less time downstairs…and more time up here…ya know?" Gir nodded, even though he wasn't really paying attention. "We agreed to be closer…but we're still so apart! I should just go down there and make him come up!" Dib yelled, but sat still.

"I'll go get him!" Gir yelled. Gir ran to the chute and went down, leaving Dib speechless on the couch. He just stayed and kept watching TV, not worrying about the little robot too much.

Gir landed in one of Zim's labs, he had so many. He'd already forgotten what Dib said. He just wandered until he found Zim. Zim was in one of the smaller labs, working on something, like always. "Master!" Gir yelled. Zim looked over at Gir. Zim was out of disguise and wasn't wearing his jacket.

"What, Gir?" Zim said impatiently. Gir stood for a moment, scratching his metallic head.

"I forgot!" Gir chirped happily. Zim just stared at him in boredom for a minute.

"Gir, I have an important question for you," Zim said, his eyes lighting up.

"Yes, Master!" Gir said, saluting, eyes glowing red.

"How do you go into sleep mode?" Zim asked, peering down at him. Gir's eyes went back to blue.

"Like this!" And Gir switched himself off and fell into sleep.

"GIR!" Zim yelled, shaking Gir awake.

"Yes, Master?" Gir chirped.

"I didn't mean show me, I meant tell me," Zim explained, still gripping on Gir to keep him from flying off.

Gir giggled in his mechanical way. "That's easy," Gir said, and told Zim what he did. Then he continued to giggle and start rolling around on the floor. When he looked back up at his master he was back to the computer, he looked serious and intent on something. Gir just tilted his head strangely and wondered what Zim was doing.

But as soon as he started wondering, he felt like making muffins. Gir flew off towards the elevator, Zim oblivious to his leaving.

…

"Gir what are you-" Dib started as he walked in the kitchen, but stopped. Gir had pancake pix all over the floor and muffins spread all over the place.

"HI!" Gir yelled.

"Why…?" Dib asked, motioning to the disaster mess of the kitchen.

"I like pancakes!" Gir screeched.

"Of course you do," Dib said as he sat at the table. Gir noticed the sad look on Dib's face again.

"Big-head! Why you so sad?" Gir asked as he stood on top of the table.

Dib laughed a little. "I guess you forgot about earlier…" Dib said. Gir turned his head to the side, not knowing what Dib was talking about. Dib sighed. "I just wish life around here was…more…normal," Dib said, seeming to struggle to find his words.

"Like Gossip Girl!" Gir yelled.

"Wha…no!" Dib replied, wondering where that came from.

"Let's go!" Gir said, grabbing Dib's hand and dragging him off towards the door.

"Go where, Gir?" Dib asked cautiously.

"To the park!" Gir screeched as he slid his disguise on and continued to drag Dib out the door. Dib just went along, happy to have something to do, at least.

…

"Squirrel!" Gir yelled.

"Gir! That's not a squirrel! That's a kid, leave him alone!" Dib yelled after Gir, scooping him up in his arms, letting the frightened kid run back to his mother.

"Aw…but I wanted the squirrel…" Gir moaned.

"Well, Gir…" Dib said, about to explain why he couldn't have the 'squirrel'. But Gir escaped his arms and started running towards the larger part of town. "Gir!" Dib yelled. He couldn't loose Gir, he didn't know why, but it worried him to think of loosing Gir. So he ran as fast as he could after the speeding little dog.

…

Zim held up a computer chip he'd just finished upgrading. Now it would allow him to shut off, the way Dib and Gir did. He beamed, proud of his work. Just after he placed it in his pak, Zim heard the incoming intruder alert message playing. He wondered who it was, seeing as the only intruder he ever had before now was Dib. He looked at his security screens and gasped. It simply couldn't be.

…

A squirrel, a real one this time, leapt into a tree. Gir followed it, stopping momentarily to watch it. "GAAAAHHH!" Gir screamed as he felt hands grab at his sides. The hands turned him around and he saw big-headed puppy-smelly boy. "HiIII!" Gir waved.

"Gir…I chased you…all over…town…" Dib panted. He looked tired. Gir decided he needed a huge and tackled him. "That's it Gir! We're going home!" Dib yelled.

"YAY!" Gir yelled, not even listening to Dib. All the way home, Dib attempted to keep Gir within reach, just in case he decided to run off again. By the time they got home it was nearing sunset and Dib was exhausted. Gir, at least, was content enough to come back home without wandering off again.

The house seemed different when Dib entered, as if there was a sort of energy in it. He followed the energy into the kitchen and gasped. "About time you got back!" Zim yelled, angrily.

"Hey…Zim," Dib muttered, watching the scene before him. Professor Membrane was sitting across the kitchen table from Zim. "Hey Dad, what are you doing here?" Dib asked.

"I was just speaking to your foreign friend here about how my labs run!" Professor Membrane shouted. "But the main reason I came was to talk to you two together!"

Dib internally moaned, this really couldn't be good. "Yeah dad?" Dib asked, sitting next to Zim.

"Well, I just wondered how far the two of you had gotten?" Professor Membrane asked, peering at them closely.

"Oh god dad…" Dib moaned, his hands in his face. Zim just blinked at the two of them. He had no idea what the man meant.

"I'm just curious. I have a machine that can splice the DNA of two people together! That's how you were made, Dib!"

"Wait…I was born through a machine?" Dib asked, almost in horror, looking up at his dad.

"Hey, so was I!" Zim said in surprise, finally understanding something in the conversation.

"Well, there's one thing you have in common!" Membrane pointed out happily. Zim beamed and Dib groaned and sank in his chair.

"Dad…we're…we're not that far yet…" Dib told him. Zim still didn't know what they were talking about.

"Oh really? You live together but you haven't had sex?" He asked bluntly. Dib blushed and wished he were dead rather than there. It couldn't get worse.

"What's sex?" Zim whispered, Membrane not hearing the question. It just got worse, Dib blushed more.

"Dad, is that all you wanted to talk about?" Dib asked.

"Well, pretty much," He admitted. "I suppose I'll go back to the lab now, with REAL SCIENCE!"

"Yeah dad…you do that…" Dib mumbled.

"Just remember the splicing machine!" He yelled as he left.

"I will, dad," Dib mumbled again. He turned to look at Zim, who was grinning. "What's so funny, Zim?" Dib asked, not in the best of moods.

"Not funny, something good," Zim said, keeping the information to himself.

"Zim, tell me," Dib growled.

"Tell me what sex is first," Zim taunted. Dib groaned and fell back in the chair again.

"It's…it's a ritual…that people do sometimes…" Dib tried explaining, choosing words Zim might understand more. "They do it to…claim each other…in love…"

"Oh…" Zim said quietly, thinking about that. "I claim you, Dib."

"I know…" Dib sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Is that all there is to the ritual?" Zim asked.

"No…" Dib sighed again. "It's pretty physical, the whole ordeal…" Dib stopped after he realized what he was saying. Now Zim would want to do this 'ritual' and Dib just told him what it was instead of lying about it and saving himself. "Um…"

Zim looked at Dib sadistically. "Describe this…physical ritual to Zim," He said, inching closer to Dib.

"It's not something I _can_ describe, Zim," Dib groaned. He inched a bit away.

"Then show Zim," He demanded.

"No," Dib uttered without thinking.

Zim stared at him in silence for a moment before falling back in his chair, crossing his arms. "You do not wish to claim Zim in this…ritual of love?" Zim asked disappointed.

"Well…It's not that, exactly," Dib stuttered.

"What then?" Zim asked. Dib noticed his hurt, yet questioning expression.

"I…you…it…uhhh…." Dib struggled to figure out what he was talking about. Zim wanted sex. Did Dib want it too? "The moment…has to be…I don't know, special…you know, worked up…" Dib explained.

"Worked up?" Zim asked, becoming more curious.

"Erm…"

Zim grinned. "I remember seeing that on the TV…" Zim said softly and slowly. "Foreplay…isn't it?" Zim asked, seducing Dib.

"Y-yeah…" Dib stuttered. What sort of shows did Zim watch? Zim turned on Dib and pinned him to his chair. "It hurts…you know…the uh…ritual," Dib told him quickly.

"I've been through worse…" Zim said, shrugging off the thought of pain. Zim moved his face closer to Dib's panicked one. He hooked his hand around Dib's waistband, making Dib's heart start running a million miles an hour. Then he realized that Zim probably didn't know that part, he was most likely just keeping his balance by grabbing Dib's pants.

But he would know soon. Zim leaned in a pressed his mouth against Dibs. Dib wrapped his arms around Zim, deciding not to just sit there are be harassed by Zim. Dib was definitely going to be the dominant one in this. He kissed Zim back harder, taking Zim by surprise, but they both kept on going.

Zim got up suddenly, still kissing Dib, and hoisted Dib up by the arms. Dib grunted, wishing Zim weren't so demanding, but let it slide. Zim made up for it with groping Dib's sides hungrily. They somewhat stumbled over to the couch. Dib knew it would have been smart to head for his room where no one could walk in, but that was too far away. He wanted Zim _now_. He tore Zim's clothes off, Zim ripping Dib's off as well. They fought, almost, for who was more dominant, but they ended up just switching, tossing and turning furiously as they worked.

…

Warm. Zim was warmer than he'd ever been. Earlier the Dib had requested the computer bring them Dib's blanket from his bed. Then Dib and Zim meshed closer than they ever had before. Zim could feel sweat come off of Dib, but it didn't burn Zim like it normally would have, Zim was too tired to figure out why though. Zim had ended up leaving his projector on after all, though he didn't know why. Now Dib was curled up beside Zim, about to fall into the world of sleep. So was Zim, come to think of it. His thoughts kept drifting, sliding and becoming less clear. But he didn't want to sleep just yet.

Zim poked Dib in the head lightly, rousing him. He made a slight humming noise to show he was listening. "Dib? …I have a question…" Zim said quietly. Dib opened his eyes to look at Zim questioningly. "What is sleep like?" Dib smiled and got closer to Zim.

"It's like…getting to rest after a really long day of doing things…it feels good…" Dib said sleepily.

"As good as the love, ritual, sex thingy did?" Zim asked, because the ritual thingy had felt very good indeed.

"Almost…" Dib answered. Sex must have felt very good for Dib because he was answering Zim much more easily than normal. Zim let him slip into his subconscious sleep world. He watched as Dib went into his innocent looking face. It made Zim smile, getting to see Dib look so relaxed. Zim let his own thoughts slide away now as he closed his eyes. He never did tell Dib the good news…oh well, Dib would know in the morning, no need to wake him now.

…

_Your guts will be strewn on an autopsy table! _

Cold. Why was everything cold? He couldn't figure out. Where was Dib? He looked around himself, looking. Finally he saw Dib behind him. 'Dib,' He called out. Dib smiled sweetly, more sadistically than usual. He raised a hand and waved. '…Dib…?' Zim watched as Dib walked away, fading out of Zim sight.

'D-Dib, come back!' Zim yelled, he tried to reach out to Dib, but he couldn't move his arm. He looked down and saw a bright metal band on his wrist. There was another band on his other wrist. 'What's going on! Where's Dib?' Zim demanded. Cold laughter filled the air.

'He's gone, Zim,' The voice said. 'You can't have him anymore. You don't deserve him.'

'What are you talking about? Who are you?' Zim asked loudly. He kept looking around but saw no one. He realized he was strapped to a metal table.

'It doesn't matter who I am…' The voice said. 'It matters who you are…'

'I know who I am, who are you?' Zim asked again. That horrible laughter sounded again.

'Who are _you_? Do you even know? You pose as a human, a scientist…but that's not what you are. You're an alien, an alien hated by his own kind none the less…' the voice said, teasing him. Zim bit his lip, keeping his comments to himself, and tried to understand what the mysterious person was saying. A hand rose above Zim, holding a sharp, deadly looking razor blade. 'What _are_ you, Zim?' As Zim stared at the blade in horror, the words kept echoing in the large space.

'What _are_ you, Zim?'

"Wake up, Zim!"

"Huh?" Zim opened his eyes to see Dib staring at him.

"You're bleeding…" Dib pointed out. Zim felt the wetness next to his head and felt his mouth with his hand.

"Oh…" Zim said, fingering his wound. There was blood on the couch and on Zim's face. Luckily he hadn't gotten it on Dib as well.

"…bad dream?" Dib guessed.

"Uh…yeah…" Zim answered. Is that what that was, a dream? Dib held Zim's head in his hands.

"You don't look too bad," Dib said with a smile. "What did you dream about?"

"Eh…nothing…" Zim said, deciding not to describe the strange dream.

Dib laughed lightly. "I didn't even know Irkens slept," He said.

Zim smiled with pride now, forgetting all about his overnight wound. "We're not supposed to, but I took Gir's sleep mode ability and installed it into my pak." Dib smiled at Zim.

"So that's where you've been all day," Dib sighed, leaning into Zim's chest.

"Yup," Zim concluded. He leaned into the couch, letting Dib snooze on him. After a while he felt dib playing with the projector around his neck. Zim finally sighed and poked Dib in the head. "I have to work…" It was a Monday, as the professor had told him the previous night.

"Really?" Dib whined, purposely being difficult. "Do you _have_ to?"

"Well, I could just vaporize you…" Zim said. Dib chuckled.

"No you wouldn't."

"I might."

"Yeah right."

"I really could."

"Then do it."

"…"

"See?"

"I have to work…"

"Fine," Dib finally got up and let Zim sit up. Dib sat on the couch and watched Zim collect his clothes back up.

"What?" Zim said, turning around.

"Nothing…" Dib sighed. He blushed and turned away a little. "I just like watching."

"Of course you do," Zim said proudly. He grinned and walked off to clean the blood off of himself. When he got back to the main room, Dib was already dressed and making breakfast in the kitchen.

"Leaving?" Dib asked sadly.

"Yeah…" Zim answered.

"Hey," Dib said, before Zim left, "Can I move some of my stuff downstairs?" Zim thought about that. There probably wasn't anything down there that would hurt Dib, even if there was, Zim would probably be home in time to destroy it anyway.

"Sure," Zim shrugged.

"Thanks," Dib said smiling. He hugged tight, kissing him passionately.

…

Zim walked into the Membrane building cautiously, not knowing what to expect. It was fairly clean, unlike most other filthy earth places. It almost reminded Zim of Vort, where he'd been in military researcher. He remembered the monstrosity he created and chuckled to himself. Still only he thought that idea was ingenious. He found the workstation and slid the white coat on. Somehow it felt strange on Zim, not like he'd expected. He looked around for Professor Membrane, not seeing him anywhere.

…

Dib grabbed a couple boxes in his arms, letting Gir carry a couple. They headed to the elevators and went deeper into the base. Dib searched around until he found an empty room to store things in. He stacked up the boxes, showing Gir what to do. Something in his gut told him something was wrong. He couldn't place what was wrong exactly though. He realized he couldn't see the very back of the room very well. He asked Gir to shed some light on the room so Dib could see. What lied at the back of the room was shiny and Irken looking.

…

Zim found Membrane in one of the labs. He was hunched over something. "You came, that's very good, Zim…" He said, oddly quiet for the loud man.

"Professor Membrane…is something going on?" Zim asked.

The man turned around quickly to face Zim. "There's always something going on in the world of SCIENCE!" The man boomed. Zim wished he hadn't asked. "White looks good on you," Membrane commented.

"Thanks…" Zim replied.

"Better than it should…" Membrane said, eying the visible metal cord around Zim's neck. He simply didn't know how to reply to that. "Come over here, my boy! There's a special project going on that I want you to see!" Membrane said, holding out his arm to Zim. He came forward happily to see what the project was.

…

Dib had no idea what the Irken thing was. There was a huge metallic plate, surrounded by cords and machines. There was a small screen that had Irken print scrawled across it. Dib had no idea what it said. He stepped onto the plate to get a better view of the words. Just as he stepped onto the metal surface, it lit up a dark red and the sound of an old machine getting started after many years sounded.

…

The project looked like a huge magnet. Well, to Zim. To any human it would have seemed like something unpredictable. But Zim could feel the magnetic pulsing of it. He didn't know why Membrane thought it was so fascinating. "What's going on here?" Zim asked, feeling confused.

"Why don't you flip the switch and find out?" Membrane offered, holding up a control panel to Zim. Zim shrugged and flipped the switch. He felt the force of the machine coming to life. But that wasn't all he felt.

…

A bright red light illuminated the plate. It rose slightly. Over the machine he could hear Gir making aw sounds at the machine. It was warming up for something. Dib desperately searched for an off switch. He saw a button on a far off panel and he struggled to reach it. He pressed the button quickly and felt a slight stinging sensation throughout his body. He closed his eyes as the machine became deafening. He held his hands over his ears, waiting for it to stop. When it finally did he looked up and nearly passed out at what he saw.

…

Zim felt tugging at his neck, the metal cord was straining at him. "Isn't it great!" The professor yelled. The machine became louder and more forceful. Zim's projector finally gave in, though he didn't know it was so weak, and it flew against the machine and broke into tiny little pieces. Destroyed forever. Professor Membrane turned the machine off and looked at Zim with evil eyes. He felt that his disguise was gone. He looked at his hands, two fingers and a thumb per hand.

"We've got you now," Membrane growled, surprising Zim. Wasn't Professor Membrane just a brainless human, like all the rest? He never saw through any of Zim's disguises, right? Wrong. "It's taken a long time, Zim, but finally, you're ours…" A team of men seemed to come out of nowhere and grab Zim's arms, taking him captive. Professor membrane had known the whole time. It was why he'd been so accepting of him and Dib, and why he'd offered Zim the job. And Zim fell right into his trap. He looked down in shame. He really _didn't_ deserve to have this life. He didn't deserve Dib.

…

Dib realized what kind of machine he'd stepped into, a transporter. And he'd just transported to worst possible place. "Who's this big-headed thing?" One asked the other. "I don't know…his head is big, isn't it?"

Dib stood before the Tallest in their ship…before Zim's past leaders. "Let's capture him," The red one stated.

"Yeah…new species are always fun to test on," The purple one said happily. Two Irken guards grabbed Dib's arms. Dib cursed in his head. All he had wanted was to be closer to Zim, now he was across the universe from him. He wondered if Zim would even notice if he was gone.

…

…

…

:) Hope you enjoyed! Heh heh, don't kill me for the twist at the end. I had to put that in there.

Awww…I was hoping to make a chapter dedicated to Gir…but I just can't capture Gir's awesomeness! Or I'm lazy, yeah I think that's it. Anyway, it had more Gir than usual.

Isn't Prof. Membrane just an ass? Yes, I've always thought so.

Anyway. Funfact! While writing the lemon scene of lemony goodness, I was drinking lemon-flavored tea. It was yummy, haha. Bleh, I didn't bother going into detail with my lemony goodness, cuz I would have died of giggling. Hehe, I still giggle at DibxZim lemons.

Anyway! Enough about fruit! (is a lemon a fruit?) I hope you enjoyed! Reviews are awesome and favs are amazing and llamas are grateful. Just kidding, this site needs a llama button though. Good night! The next chapter, hopefully up in a few days!


	12. Ship

Chapter Twelve: Ship

Warnings: Zim curses(finally) oh and you'll hate me at the end of the chapter :)

Gaz got out of the Irken ship warily. The ship was easy to fly and navigate, sure, but that wasn't why she was exhausted. She had visited nearly all the countries of the world that day, while she was supposedly in a gaming tournament. She knew she couldn't take Gir, he would've screwed something up. She loved Gir, but even she had to admit he had faults. But now she had power over almost every country in the world, so she could be reunited with Gir now. She stepped into the household quietly, expecting to hear screaming or cursing at the missing ship. But she heard nothing. The Membrane household was completely empty. Normally that was good, her father was somewhere else, not ranting in her ear. But right now she sensed that something was up. She had a trained sixth sense from constantly playing video games.

She went to space boys house, expecting to hear whining. But it was empty here too. She scowled, people were being too quiet. Gaz went through the trashcan to find someone in the lower base. She finally found Gir, messing with wires, connecting them to his head and enjoying the electric pulsing. "Hey…Gir…where is everyone? Not that I care…" Gaz mumbled to Gir. He looked up and shrieked.

"Gazy!" Gir yelled and attached himself to her head. Gaz sighed patiently, waiting for Gir to tell her what happened. "Oh yeeeeeaaahhh," He said slowly. "Puppy head went into a big swirly thing and disappeared! I think he went to the moon…I want cheese!"

"Where's Zim?" Gaz asked. Gir shrugged. She sighed, she'd just have to find out by interrogating the computer, and threatening to rip out its hard drives again.

…

A bright light. But it wasn't bright for long. Zim looked around. To his relief he wasn't restrained to a table…yet. He was on the floor of a white room. He was stripped down to only his pants. They even went so far as to take his shoes, which seemed rude, but he could understand their motive. To them, Zim was only an experiment now. To them, Zim didn't deserve mercy, much less clothing.

Zim looked at his hand, remembering where each pale green scar had come from. He could even see the vivisection scar on his chest. He winced as he remembered a particularly painful one down his side he'd gotten from training. "Hello! We meet again little alien," Professor Membrane said as he walked in the room. "I see you're awake now."

"Eh…yes," Zim said awkwardly. He wondered how much damage he could do from this point. Not much. But that was Dib's parental unit anyway…so would he be mad if Zim attacked him? Membrane _did_ capture Zim and bring him to this awful smelly _hyuman_ place. As Zim struggled with this in his head, Membrane observed Zim.

"Where are all those scars from? We noticed them last time we saw you, but didn't have the chance to ask," Membrane asked Zim. Zim smirked at him.

"Well, this one is from you filthy hyumans," Zim hissed, tracing a claw down his front.

The professor looked away, as if ashamed of it. "Yes…only now have we realized our folly in that, little alien…"

Zim was surprised the humans would actually get smarter about something. "My name is Zim!" He said angrily. Despite the humans growing knowledge, they were still incredibly stupid.

"Yes, well, not anymore," The professor said, tilting his head so that the light glinted off his goggles for a moment.

Zim growled, growing angrier by the second. "My. Name. Is. ZIM!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. It seemed irrational to be so angry about this little thing, but Zim hated being ignored this way. Membrane covered his ears for a moment and backed up. Zim positioned himself in a wild, feral way, making him seem barbaric.

"Yes…yes, little alien. Well…we'll talk later," He said and leapt to the door. Zim lunged, trying to catch him in time but slammed into the door. He pounded on it angrily.

"I'M ZIM! HEAR ME! MY NAME IS ZIM YOU STUPID FILTHY HUMAN!" Zim roared. He absolutely hated being captive to someone else, especially if he was conscious for it. He decided, no matter what Dib thought, if Zim saw that man again, he would definitely go for the kill.

…

Irken guards dragged him harshly down the dimly lit hall. Dib wasn't all that surprised that the Irken vessel was dark. Zim's house was almost always shrouded in darkness, even in the lower base. The guards tossed Dib carelessly into a containment room. The four walls were made of energy beams, preventing him to get out. Dib watched the Irken guards go as he sat in the middle of the room. He wondered what was happening on earth right now. Zim and his father were probably having fun with science, Gaz was most likely just playing games with Gir. Would Dib even be missed? He hoped so. Maybe Zim could come get him…Maybe Dib should get himself out of his mess.

He observed the prison holding him. It didn't seem like there was a way out. He remembered something from Skool and started laughing. The teacher had said that they'd better find a mate or they'd be doomed. Well, Dib had found his 'mate', but he was still doomed, for some reason this was hilarious and he kept on laughing. "Hey…!" A furious whisper yelled next to him. Dib stopped laughing and looked at the force field to his left. Through the colorful wall he could just make out a figure in the next cell.

"Y-yes?" Dib whispered back.

"Quit laughing will you, some people are planning a jail break. So if you don't mind…" The voice trailed off. Whoever it was, is sounded female. Dib couldn't see whether she was human, Irken, or something else, but he decided if she was in this prison too, then she was a comrade.

"Wait, did you say jailbreak?" Dib whispered a bit louder.

"Yes!" She hissed, barely audible, "And keep it down or we'll get caught!"

"Oh…right…well, hey, can I join you?" Dib asked. If others were planning to break free, then he could help and they could all escape. Plus they might know how to get off the ship better than him.

"I don't know…why are you here?" She asked suspiciously.

"Well…I was fooling around with my…friend's equipment and accidentally got teleported here, and the Tallest locked me up…claiming me as their property," Dib explained, not sparing a detail. If he did anything to make it sound like lying, he bet the woman wouldn't trust him. As it was, she was thinking about it, making thoughtful sounds.

"I suppose you're okay then…you're not loyal to Irkens?" She asked.

"Not to the Tallest anyway," Dib said, thinking of Zim. He was loyal to Zim, but no other Irken.

"Hmm." She hesitated more. "Alright, welcome to the refugees of Irk. My name is Kei, what's yours?" Kei asked.

"My name is Dib," He said, feeling good that she'd accepted him. Kei was a strange name though, but she probably thought Dib was a strange name too. Kei then explained her plan for escape, it involved other refugees. In total, there were four refugees, and Dib made five. Kei told him all their names, and he was thankful he didn't hear the name Tak. She was quite evil, probably bent on killing Zim. He didn't want to think about it.

…

Gaz entered the building with Gir on a leash and in his doggy outfit. Gaz had been careful to make Gir look completely normal in this situation. She found her father's office where she knew he was waiting for her. "Hey dad," She said as she walked in.

"Hello, daughter!" Membrane greeted her happily, "So what has my Gaz been up to lately?"

"I'm looking for Dib's stupid friend…" Gaz said.

"Oh, you mean Zim? Dib's boyfriend?" Membrane asked.

"…yes…" Gaz admitted. She kept her eyes concentrated on her game.

"Hmm, I haven't seen him. He didn't show up for work," Membrane said, pondering where Zim could be. Gaz thanked him and left. She'd find Zim later, she would just forget about him and leave him where he was to die, but she needed someone to help guide her through the Irken equipment. And if she couldn't get Dib back, then Zim was all she could get.

…

Zim was leaning against the wall, well, his side was against the wall. His pak wouldn't let him lean his back against the wall. He was listening to the conversation taking place in the next room. Normally, it shouldn't have been audible with the huge wall in between the rooms, but Zim's antennae picked up their speak well. He smirked at Professor Membrane when he walked in, well, walked into the tiny room with a window into Zim's containment. The idiot human hadn't made the mistake of coming near Zim again.

"Finding something amusing, little alien?" Membrane asked. Zim ignored the alien comment, he would yell about that later.

"You lied to your own familial unit," Zim pointed out smugly.

"How did you hear that?" He asked curiously, "The walls are three feet thick."

"Are you such an idiot that you can't figure it out?" Zim asked back, twitching an antenna purposely to attract his attention. The human watching Zim and wrote something down on yet another clipboard. Zim pushed himself away from the wall to sit cross-legged, turned away from the window. He was getting pissed that his insults weren't getting to the human.

"Why did you call my daughter my familial unit?" The human asked. Zim turned to glare at him coldly before continuing to stare at the wall opposite of the human. He wrote something down again, the scratching sound annoying Zim to no end. His sensitive ears could pick up the sound easily, if he concentrated he could probably even tell what the human was writing. As the human wrote some more, Zim attempted to see the writing in his head. But none of it made sense. If it were Irken he was writing, it would have been much easier. Zim still hadn't mastered written English, which pissed him off even more.

"So, little alien…" The professor continued, putting his pen down to Zim's relief. "I asked you once before, I'll ask again. Where are your scars from?" Zim shivered, he hated the demanding tone of the human's voice. Zim wanted so badly to leap up and scream obscenities at the human, but he wouldn't give the man the pleasure of seeing Zim out of control. So Zim just sat and glared at the wall, attempting to ignore the scratching of the idiot monkey brain's pen as he began writing again.

…

Dib knew the plan. He knew it well. Kei had a vessel waiting, disguised as a battle ship for the Irken empire, in the ship deck. Seriously, were all Irkens obsessed with disguises? He knew Zim was, he didn't even know if Kei was Irken. He assumed she was from her intense knowledge of Irken technology.

"Are you sure the plan's gonna work?" Dib asked nervously.

"Of course, my plans always work. I'm Irken," She said proudly.

"If all your plans work perfectly…how'd you end up here?" Dib asked.

"Well…that was a fluke on someone else's part, and the empire was more prepared for our strike than I thought…" Kei said, deflating a bit.

"Oh…well, I had to ask. The only Irken I've ever know…well, his plans never work," Dib said, putting it frankly.

"Who did you know?" Kei asked, curiously.

"His name is Zim…uh…" Dib said. Did Irkens have last names?

"Wait…you mean, short, hot tempered, hated-by-the-tallest, Zim?" Kei asked in surprise.

"Yeah…sounds like him, anyway," Dib said, who else could be like that but Zim?

"Wow…you know him personally?" Kei asked, astonished for some reason.

"Yeah. I live with him in his base," Dib said, wondering why Kei wanted to know about Zim all of a sudden.

"Really?" Kei gasped. "Do you think…do you think he'd join the refugees?" She asked.

"Probably so," Dib said, almost certain Zim would join. But only because Dib was a part of it.

"Where is his base at?" Kei demanded.

"On earth, why?" Dib asked.

"Because as soon as we escape, our team is heading to earth," Kei said, determined on finding Zim.

"Really? That's good, but…why?" Dib asked. He thought Kei wanted to get to their hidden base on another planet.

"Because, Zim is the most hated Irken we've ever heard of, if we have him on our team, it'll be one more blow to the empire," Kei said happily.

"Isn't that a bit…harsh…to Zim I mean?" Dib asked, Kei called him the most hated. Surely Zim wasn't so bad to the Irkens.

"Oh, I didn't mean to offend!" Kei said quickly. "Zim will also be excellent towards our cause. If I remember right, he's got tons of experience. He took down two of the Tallest! Besides that, he's worked directly for the current Tallest as a scientist. He's been in numerous battles! He's got training of all kinds, since they kept switching him around! He'll be a huge help for us!" Kei sounded really excited, Dib was impressed with what she said, Zim sounded like a true elite now. "Among the Tallest and now most Irkens too, he's known as the defect that won't die."

That made Dib wish Zim had always been human. Being called a defect by someone who actually wanted you on their team. And the defect that won't die? That implied that they'd tried to kill him and failed. Were people, enemy and Irken, trying to kill Zim all his life? Dib suddenly felt a huge boat of sympathy for Zim, all his life he'd been working his hardest at pleasing his leaders. Now even the refugees were teasing him. Dib knew Kei didn't mean harm, but Zim deserved better than that.

…

Professor Membrane had called several of the top scientists of earth. Zim scoffed at them and stared at his wall. He attempted to tune out their chattering and muttering and pen scratching by pointing the dots on the wall. They weren't dots, it was paint, but Zim thought of them as dots. Suddenly, without warning, the walls changed. Zim, who'd been by the wall, backed up to the middle of the room. The walls shifted and moved inward, making Zim's rather large room a lot smaller. Zim now had a five by five space. Hardly enough room in his opinion. He began staring at the wall again when, to his horror, panels in the walls slid up, revealing a hidden window on each wall into the room. There was still a strip of wall at the bottom and top, but Zim knew he was going to be observed constantly now.

Zim kept his head down, looking at the floor now, and didn't dare look up into the faces watching him from all sides. The dumb human had dragged tons of other humans into the space. Zim could hear them all talking about him, about his resolve, about how he was unresponsive. One suggesting termination, Zim twitched for a moment at that idea. Someone noticed the twitch and wrote it down. Zim closed his eyes. He heard a flurry of pen scratching at that single move. It reminded him of when the crazy alien worshipers had found him. They had awed at Zim's every move. It was flattering, but got old quickly. This pen scratching thing had gotten old before it even began.

"Little alien," Membrane called to him, the other scientists quieting their chatter so that Zim could hear Membrane clearly. "We're all here. Now…tell us, where are your scars from?" Zim had no idea why the human wanted to know so badly as to have asked three times in a row now. Perhaps it was the principal of the question, Zim refused to give the human something so now the human would do anything to get it, even if it was a worthless answer that gave him no valuable information whatsoever. Further proof, to Zim, that humans were complete idiots. Except Dib…Zim's chest ached at the thought. He was trying not to think about his squishy feelings for Dib…but that was over now. Zim wanted Dib so badly to come in here and save Zim again. Zim didn't want to have the feeling of people inside of him again. Well…Dib could be inside, but that was it. These humans were idiots and did not even deserve to _see_ Zim. "Little alien," Membrane called again, with more patience and gentleness, as if that would change Zim's reaction to his inevitable next question. "If you do not answer me, if you refuse to even budge, we will have to resort to more drastic measures of obtaining information." Zim didn't move, he heard something mechanical moving above, he refused to move and look. He didn't even open his eyes. He tensed, waiting for whatever the human considered to be drastic.

"Well, little alien…?" Membrane called once more. Zim didn't move. The man's voice changed, no longer seeming gentle in any way. It reminded Zim of the drill sergeants who'd trained him. "You do remember, you're still considered a prisoner of war, as well as a test subject?" With that, Zim felt electricity charge through his body, burning at his insides. He twitched and tensed up. But he didn't move, he bit his tongue roughly so he wouldn't scream. He wouldn't let these foolish humans break him so easily.

As the electricity stopped and Zim allowed himself to at least pant from the energy the blast had taken from him, he heard the scribbling of pens writing his reaction on paper. Almost all of them said the exact same thing. Zim kept his eyes shut, he wouldn't look into the faces of his enemy, not now, he wouldn't give them that. "So, little alien? Why are you on earth, hmm?" Membrane asked. Zim held firm, not letting his resolve leave him. He heard Membrane grunt, then he scribbled something down. "Everyone, please turn to the page I gave you and begin," Membrane instructed. Zim wondered what he meant as he heard all the scientists fiddling with papers. All at once they all started asking questions. This wasn't chat, they were all directed at Zim.

"Why are you on earth?" "Where is the rest of your race?" "How come no one's come for you yet?"

"What is the thing on your back?" "What is your source of life?" "Why were you with Membrane's son?"

"How far can you hear with your antennae?" "Where is your home?" "How advanced is the technology on your planet?"

Zim normally absorbed attention as much as he could. But this was making him insane, so many people all asking him a gigantic range of questions. One man asked if Zim liked waffles. It bothered him to be asked so many details all at once by so many people. They all stopped suddenly and that inevitable question sprouted from Membrane. "Where are your scars from, little alien?" Zim's resolve faded with his blind anger and hate. Zim turned full around and stood, facing Membrane. Zim glared at him with all the hate and pure fury he could muster. "FIGHTING, you BASTARD!" Zim yelled as loud as he could. He even added other curse words, of course they were a different language. "And cuz I know you'll ask, fighting as in wars, training, accidents and battles!" Zim yelled.

An explosion of pens scratching on paper sounded all around Zim. All the scientists, astounded that the silly question asking thing had worked, were writing down Zim's words carefully, all except Membrane. He returned Zim's glare. Zim knew under those goggles and coat, the man must have been smirking, or grinning or something. Zim was a boiling rage inside. His mood had been climbing more and more as the professor kept pissing him off. He had used Zim's hearing ability against him. Zim never should have made that remark about his familial unit or even spoken to the man.

Membrane's next moved only pissed Zim off further. "How is it that you can speak English so well?"

…

Dib waited. The guards left. Kei's plan was about to be put into action. Kei signaled from the next cell. Dib waited more, on high alert and ready. A soft crash was heard as a nearby cell broke down. Then another, and another. They finally got to Kei's and freed her. Kei stood before Dib's cell. She was female Irken and had the curly antennae of a female; her eyes were a gray blue. She held a device up to the wall and blasted it. Dib ran from the containment and followed the four Irken refugees along hallways.

Dib feared running into an Irken guard, he had no idea how to battle them. And Dib stuck out, not only being human, but being taller than pretty much everyone. Dib held back a laugh as he realized that due to Zim's paranoia to shortness and his knack for technology, Zim was taller than all of the refugees. Making Dib even taller than them, seeing as he was still taller than Zim. Dib remembered Zim saying how he was the shortest Irken in training, now Zim was taller than them all. It was pretty hilarious.

They came to a dock without problems. Dib was really surprised by that, they were getting away. It hit him that they were probably like Zim, they probably didn't bother to keep watch or look for escapees because they simply didn't believe anyone _could_ escape. Zim stopped thinking like that after a few years on earth, but apparently the Irkens here were still pompous and arrogant. Well, Zim was still arrogant, but he was better.

They made it on the ship and they began to take off. Dib still couldn't believe his luck. He was captured and saved immediately. If only he could have done the same for Zim when he doomed him. He wondered how Zim was doing, working with Professor Membrane. He hoped they were getting along. "How long does it take to get there?" Dib asked, already having given the coordinates to Kei.

"Well, if we time all the wormholes right…just a week…" Kei said. The Irkens cheered that they would only be in there a week. But Dib couldn't stand the thought of being away from home and away from Zim for so long.

Kei slipped over to Dib, letting the autopilot on. The ship was bigger than Zim's voot cruiser, so the others weren't within earshot of them. "Thank you for assisting us…" Kei said.

"Well…I didn't really do anything. You guys rescued me," Dib said, realizing he'd wanted to help, but mostly tagged along.

"Still, you're leading us to probably our biggest break yet," Kei pointed out. "So I'm thanking you for that…" Dib noticed her hands getting closer to Dib. "Did you know that some planets…express thanks in different forms?" Dib had seen Star Trek before and he knew exactly what Kei was talking about…even if Kei had never heard of Star Trek before.

"I'm taken…" Dib mumbled to her. She looked at him, not understanding. "If you try to touch me…the person who…owns me…will most likely blast your head off. Or worse. Sorry." Kei looked frightened for a moment, then backed off calmly, understand what he meant. Apparently all Irkens understood something when it was related to ownership.

"Oh…" She said sadly. She was obviously attracted to Dib, but Dib had enough Irken waiting for him at home. "Who is the lucky…whoever?" Kei asked broadly.

"Well…uhm…Zim, actually," Dib said awkwardly.

"What?" Kei asked loudly. She stared at Dib in disbelief for a moment, almost offending him. "I'm glad you told me that…the things he would have done if I'd…" She shuddered. Now Dib saw why she was so shocked. It wasn't that he and Zim were together that shocked her, it was that she almost did something that would make Zim angrier than anything in the world.

…

It had been a few days since the 'question and pen' incident. But Zim still hadn't cooled off completely. He still sat in the middle of the five by five room. All the windows had been drawn down, even the original one that he'd always seen Membrane through. Zim sat in his room, thinking about lots of things. Escape for one, but he couldn't find a single way out. He didn't want to have to resort to using his pak, no use in letting the scientists knowing what it could do and prodding them to go digging.

Another recurring thought was what if he didn't ever get out. Irkens could live for a very long time when they weren't in war. There was always self-destructing…of course, since there weren't any experiments so far, he might as well leave that for last resort. He'd wanted to self-destruct the last time, but the Dib managed to find him.

Dib…Zim felt empty inside again. He needed Dib…everything felt empty without him. Zim was resorting to methods and mind-sets he'd only used long ago in tough wars when the enemy had captured him. He tried his hardest not to think about Dib. Thinking about him only made Zim ache inside and want to cry, but he couldn't now, he couldn't show the enemy his weakness. He'd show the dumb smelly primate humans that he was Zim and he was not to be trifled with.

Just as Zim was reaching a perfect state of mind, smelly green gas came pouring out of holes in the walls. Most of them were low to the ground where Zim was. Zim tried to stop breathing before the gas hit him, but he'd been breathing rapidly a moment before and couldn't help but get it inside of him.

Zim's world went black. He vaguely remembered hitting his head on something, he assumed it was the wall, then nothing. He woke up somewhere else. He was strapped to a table, to his horror, restrained painfully. He wouldn't show fear, he wouldn't give them that. Zim looked around and, waking up more now, realized that he was on his chest, with his back facing up. He wondered what sort of thing they were going to do with him like that.

"You're awake, excellent," Membrane called. Zim struggled to see him, but he was too far out of his view. Zim did hear his footsteps though, there were two more people with him. "I suspect you can hear my colleagues with those special ears of yours. This is Margaret, my assistant, and Dr. Fetch, a computer expert."

Computer expert…? Why would they…Zim's insides screamed as he realized what they were doing. Just the thing he feared they would do. The stupid humans saw the shiny on his back, now they wanted to play with it. He shuddered to think how much damage they could unknowingly cause, even if they were being careful, which he doubted they would do. Humans never realized anything. His pak was more than a life support, it was his entire being. His pak contained his memories, personality, thoughts, everything. All he held dear was in that pak.

"Okay…Zim, is it?" The 'expert' began. "Let's see how this opens…" The human laid his hands on Zim's pak, rubbing his filthy fingers across its gleaming surface.

"GET YOUR SMELLY, UGLY, HYUMAN GERMS OFF MY PAK! STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME YOU IDIOTS! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE MESSING WITH!" Zim yelled. The woman panicked, Membrane had to calm her. The other male stepped away from Zim, leaning against the opposite wall in fear.

Professor Membrane pushed the woman aside and walked right up to Zim. "Now, little alien. This is uncalled for. You've scared this young woman half to death," Membrane said calmly.

"Good, halfway done then," Zim said. He admitted, it was a cruel comment, But what they were about to do, Zim couldn't find words bad enough to describe the act.

"You horrible little monster," Membrane said, "all we want is to look."

"And all I want is to be released," Zim retaliated.

"That will never happen, ever," Membrane said coldly. He stripped his hand of the glove he always wore and touched Zim's pak. He rubbed at it, purposely trying to set Zim off.

"YOU IGNORANT BASTARD!" Zim yelled. A spider leg came hurdling out of his pak, straight towards Membrane's face. The woman next to him fainted and the other male seemed about to do the same. But Membrane caught it, expecting it's speed and strength. With both hands he snapped it cleanly at the base. Zim shuddered in pain, the humans would have no idea how much that had hurt. Membrane quickly stuck his hand in the port where the spider leg had come from, keeping it open.

"Quickly, let's get started, before it closes," Membrane said. The horrible man came over reluctantly and they both continued on in the grotesque act. Zim would not let them see his pain, he would not let them see his anguish. He thought, instead, of Dib. He relaxed and ignored what was happening behind him. He thought of the last night he spent with Dib, both sleeping in each others arms. He longed for that comfort once more.

…

Gaz sat on her porch…everything was so calm now. The boys were gone and she could play her game in peace. She looked at the back yard for a moment before returning to her game. She was on the final battle with the boss, she was winning.

And Dib had to ruin it all by coming back to earth. He landed, and distracted her for a second. She cursed as she struggled to get her health back to beat the boss. She ignored the other Irkens that came out of the ship with Dib. They didn't matter to her.

…

…

…

…

OMG 5 in the morning. I can't believe I wrote this all in one sit-down. I have no idea how that happened. I think reading the works of HeCallsMeHisChild has given me mad inspiration! Go read her works, seriously! HeCallsMeHisChild is so inspirational to me! I've been reading incessantly the past two days, cuz I have nothing better to do.

Anyway, sorry for all the Zim suckiness in this chapter. I don't know what got into me there. Heh, Heh. That's what I meant about you'll hate me, for all Zim's suckiness. And I apologize for the potty-mouthing. It seemed like things Zim would say so I wrote it, so I hope you forgive me for that. Ahem. I wanna ask, since I've seen this term referred to several things, is this fic turning into a Mary-sue? I don't really know, since I'm still getting used to the fanfiction terms :P It'd be uber awesome if someone would tell me what a Mary-sue is more in-depth, I know it's something to do with using just one character or something.

Anywho. Lastly. I love you all! Your reviews make me so happy, I give llamas to you all! Imaginary ones of course. If I had llamas I would ride them, not give them heh heh. Writing at five in the morning is fun. Ahem. Thanks to all of you who have stuck with me this whole time :) It makes my 'spooch all warm and fuzzy inside. I haz squishy human feelings of luuuurrrv for you all :) Have a nice night, and/or day.


	13. Missing

Chapter Thirteen: Missing

"Gaz…what do you mean you don't know where he is?" Dib asked. The four Irkens behind him pulled up their holographic disguises, but he ignored them. He couldn't even be bothered to see if they looked human enough.

"I mean what I said, idiot. Zim's lame ass computer said Zim left for work…it even showed the security camera of him leaving. And he didn't come back. And Dad said he was a no show. So…" Gaz explained. She was playing from level one again, just for the fun of it.

"But…he can't just…disappear!" Dib said, struggling to understand what happened.

"You did…" Gaz mumbled, glancing up at him. Dib struggled not to explode on her. Hmm, this must have been what it was like for Zim…when Dib was taken by the FBI. Dib went back to the ship and dropped off the refugees at Zim house, telling them to stay in disguise, even in the base.

He went as fast as he could to Membrane's labs. "Dad, dad!" Dib yelled, taking everyone by surprise.

…

Zim's antennae stood on end as he waited for something painful. Nothing as such came, they didn't prod, only look. Just like they said. But he still didn't trust them. The expert man, Dr. Fetch, was writing lots of things down. He didn't seem to know what all the parts in Zim's pak were. "Little alien, you've got a lot of tech hooked up to you. Do you mind telling us what all of this is for?" Membrane asked, recording the insides of Zim's pak. Zim growled low, as if to say they would never know. Membrane sighed. "We'll get you talkative somehow."

"Professor?" A different woman called from the doorway. "Your son wants to talk to you, he says it's quite important." The woman sounded flustered. Zim's heart rate picked up, Dib was coming? Maybe he'd see Zim and get him out of here.

"Bring up the screen," Membrane ordered. One of the small floating screens appeared. Membrane shoved something in Zim's mouth to keep him from yelling to Dib. It tasted horrible and Zim gagged on it. "Son!" Membrane beamed, "How have you been?" Dib was quiet for a minute, Zim didn't know if he was even there.

"Hey dad," Dib said quietly. Obviously disappointed he couldn't see his father in person.

…

His dad hadn't even noticed Dib was gone, even though he was gone for a week. Dib looked back up at the monitor his father was in. "I've just been…doing stuff. But do you know where Zim is?" Dib asked, worriedly.

"Hmm, your little friend? No, I haven't seen him at all. I'm surprised, he seemed so excited about working with me, but I suppose he backed out," Membrane explained. Dib lowered his head in defeat.

"A-are you sure?" Dib asked. "I mean, you haven't seen him anywhere?"

"No son, I'm sorry," Membrane said, his hands seemed to be busy with a project he was working on.

…

Zim knew the crazy human wasn't sorry at all. Zim struggled and moved wildly, trying to distract Membrane. He needed to see Dib. But the idiot pig human kept him restrained down. So Zim listened as Membrane lied to his familial unit yet again about Zim's location.

After another minute of talking, Membrane took the cloth out of Zim's mouth and continued what he was doing. Zim smirked. "You lied again," Zim teased the human. Membrane only waved it off. Zim regretted ever wanting to make the man approve of Dib. This smelly human didn't deserve someone like Dib looking up to him. Dib wasted his own time worrying about Membrane's opinion and he LIES! Zim would definitely kill him once he had the chance. "Why is it you lie so much to your familial unit?" Zim asked.

"We're the ones asking questions here, little alien," Membrane reminded Zim. Zim felt them tug lightly on a cord.

"Don't you DARE touch that, you ignorant, pig-smelly beast! You _bastard_!" Zim cursed at him. The cord was let go quickly. Membrane let the pak close and walked away with the Dr. Fetch person, leaving the still-out cold woman on the floor. "Idiots…" Zim mumbled tiredly.

…

"OOOh, this is Zim's base?" Kei asked in surprise. Her hologram showed her as a normal looking girl with Purple hair and blue eyes.

"Yes," Dib sighed for the millionth time. Dib was sitting on the couch next to Mau, the only male of the four Irkens there. His hologram hair was short and brown and his eyes were brown. Everything about Mau was completely normal, except the fact that he was insane. Dib was watching some golf show, for pretty much no reason. It bored him, but Mau seemed extremely into it, as if it were an intergalactic battle instead of men standing about swinging a stick at a ball.

"They'll never catch the moose," Mau muttered with an evil glee. Dib wondered why the refugees would take this insane Irken along with them, but then he didn't care. He watched TV and listened to Mau's insane ramblings, but he was only thinking about Zim.

"Has any of these humans ever noticed that Gir is a dog…yet he never consumes dog food? And he makes waffles and things…don't they ever notice these oddities?" Inx asked. Inx was the slightly younger, younger by Irken standards, Irken sitting in the corner, observing the surroundings. Her hair was shaggy and red and her eyes had a silver gleam in them. She was a shade or so paler than the rest and she was much more observant than any of them. She was shorter and had a more high-pitch voice. If she were really human, Dib would have put her at eight.

"No…surprisingly, I'm the only who's ever noticed how weird this place is," Dib said sadly.

"Then you must be a very intelligent human," Inx mused. Inx was probably the smartest Irken there. He debated whether she was smarter than Zim, probably so.

"GOAL!" Mau yelled next to him, despite the fact that the person on TV had missed his shot. The insaneness of Zim's house was giving Dib a headache. He ventured downstairs into the lower base, hoping to find peace somewhere.

"Where are you…" Dib heard someone mumbling softly. He peeked into one of Zim's rooms and saw a pale green Irken with bright yellow eyes staring at a computer monitor. She had the curvy antennae of female Irkens, only the curves were more pointed and angular.

"Rin! I said keep the hologram on! That means down here too," Dib scolded, coming over to her. She was sitting cross-legged in a chair that was slightly too big for her. She pushed a button and she appeared to be a blonde human with bright blue eyes now.

"Happy?" She asked sarcastically and went back to typing in the search bar on the computer. Dib watched Rin searching the computers database for information. The refugees all wore a strange sort of uniform. The girls all wore a uniform similar to Zim's old one; black pants, boots, and gloves. Their main shirts were purple with a big, pink, upside-down isosceles triangle on the front, and the undershirt was a little pink than the triangle. Rin's outer shirt was a big different, it was as long as a dress, almost reaching her knees and the top was modeled low, as if to show cleavage. But Rin had no cleavage to show, and the undershirt showed anyway.

Mau's uniform was completely different. It had the same basis, the black pants, boots and gloves. But the outer shirt was longer, not as long a Rin's though, and it was striped with black and white strips. The triangle was blood red, the same as the undershirt. Mau was a little creepy when not in disguise, he had blood red eyes and often had a crazy look, like he was about to pull out a chainsaw. His eyes were almost the same red Zim had.

"Where the flirk do you think he went?" Rin asked unconsciously. Dib looked up at the maps she had displayed on the screen.

"Who, Zim?" Dib asked. Rin nodded, not taking her eyes from the screen. "I have no idea…he never goes anywhere…" Dib vaguely wondered if Zim went back to the haunted house they'd gone to together, but he ignored that thought. Neither of them would ever go back there.

"I can't find Zim's bio signature anywhere…" Rin mumbled. Dib collapsed in another chair noisily, causing Rin to flinch.

"We'll never find him…" Dib sighed. He looked at the ground sadly.

"I…wish that I could ease your sorrow…" Rin said uneasily, "I've never experienced it…but it must be a terrible thing to lose your forevermate…" Dib looked up at her in confusion. Forevermate?

"Is that what they call them? On your planet, I mean. I've never heard of forevermate…" Dib admitted. Rin looked over at Dib blankly.

"Oh…yes. One's partner in life. On Irk, once you've completed your duty to the Tallest and you're still alive…you are allowed to reside somewhere with a forevermate if you should so choose…" Rin said in a hallow voice. She sounded so formal, speaking that way. "Not many choose to do so. Most die in battle, whether their duty is done or not."

"That's…terrible…" Dib whispered. A life of war…no wonder Zim was always confused by emotional things.

"Yes, yes it is. That's why Kei started to rebel, when she rebelled, more did. We hope to someday over take the Tallest," Rin said emotionlessly, as though she had absolutely no hope of doing so.

"Rin…is there something wrong?" Dib asked, peering at her never changing face.

"No…are you meaning the way I speak differently and do not make faces the way all the others do?" Rin asked, catching on to what Dib meant. "That is merely because my emotional filter is still operating. Kei had meant to remove it before we were captured."

"Emotional filter?" Dib echoed in confusion.

"Yes. The others have already removed theirs. I think you will relate more to…others have called Irkens heartless because we tune out emotion and weaknesses through emotional filters and other such blockers. I do not understand why they call us this…but I suppose you will understand the term," Rin explained.

"Oh…" Dib thought about that and started to laugh a little, Rin turned her head to the side, trying to see what was funny. "Zim must have taken his own out a long time ago then…he's always been pretty emotional…" Dib said. Zim was always changing moods, from angry to triumphant and such. Rin still looked confused.

"Irkens do not know of these chips. Kei discovered them while working in the informational unit and from overhearing the control brains…it would be impossible for Zim to know of these chips…" Rin said. Dib stared at her in confusion. She shrugged and turned back to the computer. "They _do_ call him defective. His pak probably contains broken circuitry. Sometime during his life…his emotional filter must have ruptured."

Rin continued working as if nothing was said. Dib wondered what this meant for Zim, what caused an 'emotional filter' to break, like Rin said? Dib looked around at all the machinery about absently and wondered if Zim was alright.

…

Zim stood once more in the five by five cell. This time he stood instead of sitting on the floor. The windows were up and all of the scientists had returned, all except for Professor Membrane. They all watching Zim, and this time, he glared right back at them, daring them to ask him questions.

Professor Membrane finally walked in with his stupid clipboard, writing something on it. He turned to stare at Zim, Zim glared back. "I'll ask you again, since you seem to need nagging. How do you speak English so well?" He asked calmly.

"Because I can," Zim growled in a low voice with his teeth clenched together. He'd had enough of their stupid question game.

"Oh, decide to cooperate now, have we? Good…very good. There are so many questions, after all. Firstly, why are you here?" Professor Membrane asked, beginning to write on his clipboard with that stupid fucking pen. The pen that scratched across the clipboard so loud it hurt his antennae. That damn pen. Zim decided that when he got out of this place…if he got out of this place, he would destroy every pen in sight. Not even Dib would be able to stop his rein of terror upon writing utensils.

Zim merely continued to glare at Membrane, not answering the question.

"Well, little alien," Membrane sighed, "I learned of this awhile back from Dib, when he was against you. I had hoped that we wouldn't have to use this, but it seems you've given me no choice." Membrane pulled out what seemed to be a remote from his pocket, it had tons of buttons. He pressed a button and Zim heard mechanical sounds above him, but he didn't dare look, he wouldn't give that bastard the satisfaction.

Zim could hear the ceiling open up and something came down. Slowly, droplets of water landed on him. The speed picked up a bit and the water reminded Zim of a light sprinkling before a downpour. He twitched as the water burned his skin like acid. He had no clothing now to soften the blow of the acidic torture. He raised his arms above him in an attempt to protect his face as he cringed away from the water. He watched as smoke began to ease off of him like his anger. The smell of charred flesh filled the room. He could taste his own Irken blood, having been biting his tongue so as to not scream.

"Now, I'll ask you again, little alien. Why are you here?" He heard Membrane ask past the sizzle and crackle of his skin burning. All of Zim's resolve blew away at that moment. All of the torture he'd had to suffer since reaching this stinking planet had gathered and at that moment…it cracked apart. Zim cracked.

"You want to know why I'm here, you _fucking bastard?_ I'm here because I have _no where_ else to go! I'm a fucking _reject_! Not even my own god-damned _planet_ wants me! They sent me here just to fucking get _rid_ of me! I tried to fit in with you stupid fucking HYUMANS! I tried to be NORMAL! I fucking tried, god DAMMIT! But no! I'm a reject here as well!" Zim screamed at them. Somewhere in the middle of his tirade he'd crouched into a feral pose, he wanted so badly to rid Membranes head off.

Membrane stood in shock at Zim's sudden outburst. He really wasn't expecting an answer, let alone this violent outburst. Perhaps the water thing had been a bit too much. Membrane quickly recovered from his shock and joined the other scientists in writing Zim's reaction furiously on a clipboard.

"Where is your home?" One of the other scientists asked.

"…the water…" Zim said, as though it pained him to speak.

"What? You're home is in the water?" Membrane asked, thoroughly confused.

"…the water…it hurts…so much. Turn it off…please…I'll cooperate. Just…turn off the water…" Zim pleaded quietly, trying again to shield himself from the painful current of water above him. He no longer cared about weakness. He was never leaving this place, and the water…he hadn't been hit with it like that in a long time. Zim was tired and hurting. He hadn't slept the entire time he'd been there, just to mess with the dumb professor's head.

"Oh…yes, of course," Membrane said, once again pulling out the remote and pressing a button to stop the water. Sure enough, the water started to fall slower and slower until it wasn't coming down at all. The ceiling then returned to normal once again.

"Now, where is your home?" Membrane asked, repeating the other scientist's question.

"Planet Irk…far away from here…" Zim stated as he collapsed into a sitting position. The leftover water on him still hurt, but it was better than the shower a moment ago. Zim's answer hadn't actually given then any information, just his planet's name, not even where it was. As Zim stared back up at the scientists writing down Zim's answer, he thought about his self-destruct. But he couldn't do that, it was just what Membrane wanted. He would simply laugh and go on to what he called 'real science'.

"Why have others of your kind not come yet?" Another scientist asked. A female one. She was skinny and had glasses nearly the size of her face, bigger than Dib's even.

"Weren't you listening to me before, you stupid hyuman?" Zim snapped at her, "I told you they sent me here to get rid of me!"

"What better way to get rid of a person than to blow up the planet they're on?" The girl asked.

"Do you wish your planet to be blown up?" Zim asked, becoming slightly amused. Stupid hyumans. "Besides…you can thank Dib for that. For the earth not being blown up. He made a pact with my leaders…that if I stayed on earth…they would stay away from it."

"What is the purpose of the device on your back?" Membrane asked, taking a step towards the cell.

"What is it with you HYUMANS and all of the pointless questions?" Zim screamed, standing up and walking right up to the glass wall in front of Membrane. "My antennae, they're for hearing! How far can they hear? As far as I fucking need them to! Why is my skin green? Because it just fucking is! What is the thing on my back? It's called a pak and it's my life source and mind! You scientists are nothing more than a bunch of moronic HYUMANS in lab coats and clipboards, you STUPID MOTHERFUCKERS! Now we can sit here all day and play 20 fucking QUESTIONS or you can release me from this stupid cell and bow down before me! Or I could decide to get REAL violent and break out of this stupid fucking glass box and kill each and every one of you motherfuckers! I AM THE ALMIGHTY ZIM! FEAR ME!" Zim screamed with all the energy he had left and punched the glass wall as hard as he could, causing a huge crack to form that reached all the way from the top to the bottom.

Membrane was now backed against the wall, pen and clipboard scattered and forgotten. He hard started to back away when Zim starting screaming and walking towards the window. All the others had fled from the room. Zim hit the glass again, causing it to break. He stepped over the low wall and outside the cell. He stepped on various pens on the ground happily. He proceeded to laugh maniacally and step towards Membrane.

…

Gaz watched Gir making muffins in his dog suit. For once she'd put her game down. She was thinking about her future plans. Who knew where Zim was, she didn't care. Everyone thought she hated everything. She admitted to herself, it was a disappointment that Zim wouldn't get to join in on her fun. She could've given him a real mission. He would've had a real part in her army, a true place to belong. Gaz dragged herself out of these thoughts. They were bad, burning bad. She watched Gir again. He could be so merry, did he even realize his original master was gone now.

"Gir…" Gaz called lightly. "Gir, who is your master?" Gaz asked, testing him. Gir turned around and looked confused, then he pointed at Gaz. She chuckled to herself, half-wishing Gir had chosen different. "Do you remember your first master?" She asked.

"Uhm, yeah!" Gir said happily. "He's live with puppy head now!" Gir clapped and continued in the muffin making. Gaz waited until he put them in the oven and came to rest in her lap.

"Gir…have you seen your old master in a while?" She asked.

"Hmmm, no…" Gir said thoughtfully.

"Do you know why?" Gaz asked.

"He busy…with big-headed kid!" Gir said and wagged his puppy tail. "I go see 'em now!" Gir attempted to leave, but Gaz hooked him gently around the waist.

"No, Gir," She said calmly. "You can't."

"W-why?" He asked sadly.

"He's not there," She told him.

"N-not there? Where he at?" Gir asked, looking up at Gaz hopefully.

"He's just gone Gir…" Gaz explained, her voice sounding hollower than she expected.

"Gone where?" Gir asked.

"Just gone…he's not anywhere…" Gaz said, not expecting Gir next reaction. Water pooled around his puppy suit's eyes.

"Gone…forever?" He asked sadly.

"…yes, Gir…" Gaz said. Gir nodded and curled up, closing his eyes. Gaz wished it weren't like this. She wished she could share her not caring with Gir. He didn't deserve to be sad over Zim's stupidity. He was missing, and Gir was paying for it. So was Dib. And those dumb aliens Dib brought back. Was Gaz paying for it too? She shook her head, she couldn't let this affect her. This wasn't her, she couldn't be sad over space boy. Tears crept around her eyes and dripped down her cheeks. She was only crying because Gir was, she told herself this over and over. She wasn't upset about this…she just wasn't.

…

"Hey, Dad," Dib sighed as he passed his father in the hall. Dib was only here because Gaz called him and told him to come over. There was a lot of threatening, so he had to come.

"Hey, son!" Membrane beamed. "Why so glum?"

"It's just…Zim wouldn't leave like this…I know him and he wouldn't…" Dib said, trying to get out was he was thinking. Not that his father cared, but he couldn't keep in inside himself for so long.

"Well, son, apparently he did. But don't worry, soon you'll meet new people! Someone will catch your attention!" Membrane told his son, trying to cheer him. It only seemed to depress him more.

"No…I don't think I will, and frankly…I don't want to…Zim's the only one I'll ever love…" Dib said. He walked off, gliding into Gaz's room. Membrane watched him go. Did his son really care so much about the alien that nearly killed Membrane? How could his son really love something like that alien? Was Membrane wrong in capturing Zim? He pushed the thought away, nothing would get in the way of his science! Well…was he really getting anything from the alien? He hadn't gotten anything useful yet. Was the alien really important enough that he would torture his son as well?

…

Zim looked up and the dark walls around him. After he broke free from the dreaded window cell and scared the shit out of Membrane, guards flooded the place, they had taken Zim and brought him here. This room was roughly two feet wide and long, just enough room to hug his knees to his chest. He couldn't see the ceiling when he looked up, not even when he stood on his toes. The walls were metal. His pak touched the wall behind him, clinking anytime he moved. It was dark too. Pitch black, though Zim could see without any light, it was still depressing to be in a metal box in the dark.

Zim's skin didn't burn anymore, the nanobots from his pak helped with that. But now he was incredibly lonely. He wished he had Dib with him now. Before, in these situations, he's always think that the Tallest needed him, so he stayed alive to serve them. But now Dib needed him, Jashin knew Zim had fallen apart when he lost Dib, so how was Dib doing now? Zim wanted to find out. He wanted to reassure Dib that he didn't just abandon him.

Zim laid his head on his knees and for the second time, fell into slumber. The world was dark was restless. Zim couldn't see anything, 'Dib! Where are you!' He called, Dib must be in the dream world somewhere. He just had to be. Zim ran, fighting the darkness. He saw something glimmer in the distance, he ran towards it with all his might. 'DIB!' He yelled. He stopped short when he saw a lake before him. No…not a lake. It was a shiny watery substance. But it wasn't exactly water. Zim remembered it now, he remembered seeing Dib in a hallucination walk into the gooey stuff and drown. Zim jumped into the substance.

His whole body was on fire, but he knew Dib was down here somewhere, he could hear Dib. He swam…actually swam though the gunk to reach the bottom. He couldn't reach it though, no matter how hard he struggled. He knew who he was, he was Zim. The last dream questioned him, but now he knew. Irken or human, it didn't matter. He was Zim, and he wasn't going to let this lake thing defeat him, he would find Dib!

…

"What is it like to kill…?" Inx asked delicately. Kei thought about that, she didn't know how to answer, she'd never killed before.

"I don't know, smeet," Kei confessed.

"Does…Zim know what it's like…?" Inx asked. She had never met this Zim before, she wanted to be prepared for him.

"Probably…he was an Invader after all…" Kei said, she didn't want to scare the girl by telling her how Zim had taken two of their Tallest's lives. True, it had been an accident both times, but still.

"Rin says his emotion chip thing broke sometime…" Inx mused. When an Irken unknowingly broke their own chip, it usually meant they were defected or insane, or both sometimes. It had made Mau irreparably insane. Kei had taken his chip out anyway.

"…yeah…with that little guy…I can believe it," Kei said sadly.

"What do you mean?" Inx asked.

"…you're still a smeet…you shouldn't have to hear…" Kei said, looking the other way.

"I may be a smeet still, but you trusted me enough to let me join you…tell me…" Inx pleaded. Kei looked the young Irken over.

"Well…you know how Invader training is the toughest…and only the tallest, most mean person can win?" Kei asked.

"Yes," Inx said, poking Kei in the side to make her keep going.

"Zim was the smallest…the Control Brains say that the smallest will always die or graduate in last place…Zim was first in all the evaluations…" Kei said. The young one next to her awed at it. "This makes Zim seem like a great warrior…but…in my opinion, it's always the ones that come out in first that are the most deranged…when it comes to Invaders…"

Inx thought about that. Mau wasn't too bad, he wasn't too violent either. How would this Zim be? She wondered about that.

…

…

…

…

I don't know why I wrote that last part with two of the OC's…I guess cuz it's five again and my internet won't work, cuz my computer hates me, and I'm bored. Hmm.

Lookit! I cursed! I really did it, I really did it! No I didn't, sadly. NikkiNaive wrote that scene for me, cuz she realized I don't know how to curse and she wanted to show me, I worked it in. She knows how to make potty words, that's for sure. So thanks to her for smutting up my fic! Just kidding, love you doll, and loved the scene.

Oh and thanks for all the kind words too! You guys are too nice to me! You make me feel all special inside! Without you guys, this wouldn't be here…and well, then Zim wouldn't be getting tortured, hmm. Oh well, I love you guys :) You're awesome. I bet Zim even likes you, hehe.

I don't know if I spelled Jashin right…I hope I did. Heh heh, Zim's god is Jashin, it makes perfect sense to me, 'cept the masochistic part of Jashinism.


	14. Gun

Chapter Fourteen: Gun

Zim woke up rather shakily. He forgot he was in a metal box for a second and panicked. The back of his head smacked into the wall and he remembered everything. He was still in containment. He never did find Dib in that lake. Where was Dib? Zim looked around his small cage suspiciously. The other hyumans must have gotten Dib…they must have hurt him. What if they were torturing Dib just like him? This prompted Zim to stand and beat on the metal walls furiously, screaming curses and warnings out to the humans.

…

"Professor?" A shaking woman asked. "It's the alien…he's…well, he acting up again, sir." Membrane left his desk and went to the camera footage of the alien's cell. He was awake and he was pounding on the walls. Most of what he was saying was in a foreign language, the only word he could make out was Dib. The alien did look angry though, as if something in him had snapped. He seemed angry at Dib, or for Dib. Membrane suddenly had an idea.

…

Zim leaned his front against the wall. He realized somewhat that beating the wall would get him nowhere. The cold metal felt good against his heated skin. He promised that if anyone touched Dib…there would be hell to pay. "Hello, little alien," A speaker from above called. Zim looked up and all over his cage. It was Membrane, but he was speaking through a communicator of some sort. "I have a proposition for you."

Zim growled and crouched low, ready for whatever would drop on him. "I won't take it…" Zim hissed.

"Yes, well, I think you will. See, we have your mate, Dib. And if you don't comply with our demands, well, things could get messy," Membrane said evilly. Zim was right, they got Dib.

"You would harm your own familial unit over me?" Zim asked.

"A small price to pay," Membrane retorted.

"I swear to Jashin if you so much as put a SCRATCH on him…I'll rip your insides out with my bare claws!" Zim screeched up at him. He continued his cursing and ranting at Membrane.

…

"He's…he's speaking in tongues again…" The woman mused.

"Yes, I think that means he's…extremely peeved," Membrane told her.

"Do you really intend on harming the boy if the alien doesn't follow along?" The woman asked with wide eyes. Membrane cackled.

"He's my son, of course I won't harm him! It's just a bluff, you see. I think the alien is deranged enough right now that he won't realize it…Dib is no where near here right now," Membrane said, a sigh of relief issued from the woman. He turned his gaze to the alien still on the screen.

…

Gaz pulled the Dib-Ship into the garage. He was stupid to leave it at their house when he moved to Zim's base. But this just meant she had access to it, and the personality of the ship liked her better anyway. She now had full control over the whole globe. If she wanted to start a war, she could, all she had to do was make a call and move the pieces on the game board of the world. She had full control, and it felt good.

Now all she needed were minions. She had Gir, but she needed more. Zim was out of the game, he lost. Dib would be okay, but she didn't know if he'd help with the destruction of earth per say. But maybe the demented Mau would do. Yes, she would have to speak with that Irken.

"Mau," She called when she walked into the base. She spotted him sitting on the couch, hugging himself and shaking. He was staring blankly at the TV, which wasn't even on. "Hey there," Gaz said, sitting next to him. He didn't move. His black and white stripes reminded her of a crazy person, which seemed appropriate.

…

"Touch anything else and you _die_, pitiful hyuman," Zim hissed, trying to remain calm. But when you're driven crazy and deranged, calm is something hard to attain.

The Professor carefully snapped the cords into place. "Are you sure this is right?" Membrane asked.

"It's _my_ pak, idiot, of course it's right," Zim said angrily. He didn't like people judging his thoughts.

Membrane opened his laptop and called for the computer expert. Together they watched as some of Zim's bio came on screen. They were looking for the functions of the device. Membrane looked back at the pak when something interesting crossed his eyes. A memory disk, it looked extremely powerful. It must have contained all of the alien's memories and data. Membrane motioned to Dr. Fetch silently and reached for Zim's pak.

Zim had his eyes closed, watching as his files all crossed his mind. He could see everything that was on the computer screen flashing in his mind. Suddenly, they stopped and something else started. He watched as his entire life started flashing in his mind on flash-forward. "What are you doing!" Zim bellowed angrily. He started to shift, but heavy hands held him down. "S-Stop!" Zim screamed as he saw all of his mistakes playing before him. His body tensed as though to fight the battles that were already over with.

His memories played so fast. Membrane was downloading them, he was sure. It was such an invasion of privacy, Zim's anger nearly made him explode. He re-watched the calls from his Tallest, catching all the signs he was too blind to see before. He shook with pain. His memories were playing backwards, so training memories were still to come.

Membrane crossed a line, this was too personal. Zim would never be able to repay the man for this. As a few particularly bad ones hit him, Zim cringed and whimpered softly, Membrane laughed as though this were nothing. Zim felt weak, his anger was failing him. Pain and sorrow overcame him with remembering all of his past. He'd managed to block out most of it over the years. But now nothing was stopping him from recalling the terrors of just how cruel the Irken empire could be.

Finally, Membrane stopped, having reached the end of the data. Zim didn't open his eyes, didn't yell, didn't move. All he did was lay there, shivering against the cold metal table and restraints. Membrane was surprised by this, but continued to unplug his computer and leave with Dr. Fetch.

"…Dib…" Zim whispered into the table. All of Zim's strength was gone, he just wanted to be home, with Dib. But he knew that was impossible, Zim was captive, and Dib was somewhere else. Who knew where Dib was now.

…

Membrane watched the recordings over and over. He couldn't believe how attached Dib had become to the alien. And it had all started because of him, because he wanted to kill the alien. If Membrane had left the alien alone, or even captured him alive, in the first place, Dib would never have…none of this would have happened. He watched them again, Dib was so happy around the alien, happier than Membrane had ever seen him. Now though, he seemed to have lost all hope. Maybe keeping the alien and torturing him this way was…he wouldn't think it. But Dib was miserable not knowing where Zim was.

…

The house was near pandemonium. The refugees were getting tired of waiting and Gir…well, everyone knows how Gir is when he's bored. Dib sat on the couch, away from the others, trying to remain calm. Which was hard to do when he was so worried about Zim. Kei and Mau had started a wrestling match in the living room floor. It began with Mau thinking Kei was a snack, then Kei started to play along. Now it was a full out match.

Mau won, and Kei started to mess with Rin too. Kei and Rin started to fight when Mau tackled Dib for no reason. Dib tried to fight him off and get him to go away, but soon Dib just gave up and wrestled with him. It was starting to get fun. Little Inx even started to play with them too.

…

Zim woke up and looked around him. He vaguely remembered being knocked out. He was sitting on cement. He looked up, it was a sky, he was outside. It was nighttime and there was no one around now. He got up and started running. This was probably another dream, but he ran anyway. He stopped in an alleyway at a noise. It was a cat, which ran past Zim, screeching. The smell of filth in the space was nearly unbearable and Zim was about to leave when he saw something on the ground. A gun. He picked it up, it was loaded and ready. He wondered why someone would just leave it on the ground, but he kept it. It was just a dream, and dreams couldn't be explained.

Zim continued running, he was tired from not sleeping and from the trauma of Membrane, but he kept pushing. The concrete tore at his feet, wanting him to stop, but he didn't. Soon he found a place that seemed familiar and he headed the way he thought home was. The metal gun in his hand was cold, begging to be fired and warm. Zim hoped he wouldn't have to use it. But there could be anyone in his home, and he didn't want to depend on his pak. Membrane could have done something to the weapons. He would pull them out to test them, but he was too busy running.

Finally he found his house, the familiar cul-de-sac, the lawn gnomes. He stopped outside the door, ready to fire if he had to. There were probably tons of scientists in there, they must be hurting Dib, why wouldn't they be? Zim held the gun in both hands, finger on the trigger, he had to grip it extra hard so as not to drop it. He kicked in the door and rushed in.

"Get away from Dib, you filthy hyumans!" Zim yelled loudly at the four humans surrounding Dib. One of the humans, a purple haired one stood up.

"Hey, hey, man," She said, hugging the red haired one to herself. Zim pointed the gun straight at her. His body shook, but his arms were straight ahead, the gun aimed directly for the human's head.

"Zim!" Dib yelled, standing up. Everyone in the room was shocked.

"Get out of my house!" Zim yelled. Membrane promised not to hurt Dib, but these humans had been fighting him. "Get the fuck OUT!"

"Zim, they're not human!" Dib said, pleadingly. Zim finally noticed the Irken uniforms they all wore. Zim's panic elevated.

"I remember you now…Kei…" Zim hissed coldly. Kei's expression changed, she was worried.

"Oh…" She said, as if she didn't expect Zim to recognize her.

As Zim held the gun firmly ahead, arms outstretched, Dib realized how scared Zim looked right now. He also saw all the scars Zim had, he realized that all the talk of Zim going through tough training hadn't been just talk.

"Zim…calm down, Kei's never done anything bad," Dib called out to him. He didn't know if he was right, but Zim was going psycho.

Zim glanced at Dib for a moment before continuing to glare at Kei. "Dib, do you see that long mark down my side? It's the longest one on that side…" Zim said. Dib noticed it, it must have been painful when it was given. "Kei gave me that, as a gift…" Dib turned to Kei questioningly. She seemed to practically worship Zim, why would she do that to him.

Kei looked down, ashamed. "I'm not like that anymore Zim, we're on the same side now!" She pleaded with him. Mau and Rin silently left the room. Zim didn't even seem to notice. After a minute, Inx slipped off to. "Besides Zim…what kind of damage do you think you'll do to an Irken with that primitive thing?" She asked, sounding bored. Zim glanced at the gun but didn't lower it.

"I know places…" Zim said, threateningly. Kei seemed a bit scared now.

"Zim…Kei saved my life," Dib said. Zim glanced back over at Dib. "I got beamed onto the Massive…and they locked me up. Kei got me out and back to earth. Kei helped Zim…" Zim lowered the gun, still watching Dib. He dropped it, lucky that it didn't go off.

"You're not in league with the hyumans of this planet?" Zim asked, just to be sure.

"Pfff, of course not," Kei said, observing Zim.

"What do you want here then, why not go on to your own base?" Zim asked quietly, yet with suspicion.

"We wanted to see you. We wanted to ask if you would join in our rebellion against the Irken empire," Kei said, gaining courage.

Zim thought about that. "Maybe…" He said, pushing the thought away. He turned to Dib. "…Dib…" He called softly. Dib rushed up to embrace Zim. He missed him so much. Neither really noticed Kei leaving.

"It's okay Zim…you're home now," Dib said quietly, enjoying the feel of Zim's skin against his.

"Yeah…" Zim mumbled. He was so tired now. Dib was safe, he was safe. What else was there to do. Sleep, that was what he needed. Zim took Dib's hand and they went off to Dib's room. Dib laid down and let Zim curl up into him. Dib could feel all the tension in Zim ease away. He wondered what Zim had to go through when he was gone, but he didn't want to ask now. He just comforted Zim, letting him know he was there. Neither of them slept for a long time, but they both felt better, just being together.

…

"Leader, Kei reporting," Kei said, saluting the video screen before her.

"Good," A wicked voice said. "Why have you not reached the home base? Where are you?"

"I'm on earth. We found him, the one. We had to wait a few days, but he's under our grasp," Kei reported.

The figure on the screen gasped, then started to laugh maniacally. "Yes! Half the universe has been looking for him with hated eyes, now we have him for ourselves…" The figure thought for a moment.

"We found another who will be useful," Kei told the figure.

"Good, good," It said. "Return to base as quickly as possible." The transmission ended. Kei wondered if Dib and Zim would be willing to go halfway across the galaxy to their base. She would have to see.

…

Why did he just do that? He let the alien go. He freed his only specimen. Now they had no idea how aliens functioned. But his son was happy, wasn't that the important thing? "Dad?" Gaz prodded behind him. He turned around. She stared at him questioningly. He was at home, he was hardly ever at home anymore.

"Yes, daughter?" Membrane asked.

"Zim is back…" She informed him. He already knew, but he reacted as though it were news. "Are you sure you didn't know where he was?" Gaz asked, taking Membrane back a bit. He was surprised that Gaz would suspect him of anything.

"Of course, daughter!" Membrane said. Gaz glared at him, unconvinced. "What makes you say that?"

"Dib found someone who can actually stand to be around him…I just thought if he went missing…and it hurt Dib so badly, you'd actually try to find him…unless you were the one who was hiding him…that's all…" Gaz mumbled, glaring Membrane down. Just as he was thinking of a response for that, Gaz started to walk away. "Zim's gonna tell Dib everything…Dib's gonna hate you." Membrane watched his daughter walk away from him. Since when did his children turn against him? When_ he _turned against them, would be the correct guess.

…

Morning. Zim had slept through the night without a single dream. Was that good? He didn't dare open his eyes, he didn't want to see that dark metal wall again. He didn't want to hear Membrane's voice, asking him questions and torturing him for answers.

"Sleep good?" Zim twitched. A question. But a different voice asked it this time. He opened his eyes and looked up at Dib's sleepy, smiling face.

"…yeah…" Zim sighed, grinning. He wasn't in that lab anymore. It wasn't a dream. He snuggled closer to Dib, taking in everything as much as he could.

"Hey…where's your hologram thing?" Dib asked,

"It…it broke…" Zim said, not wanting to tell Dib the horrid truth about his father.

"Oh…well, where were you? We couldn't find you anywhere…" Dib said, playing with Zim's antenna.

Zim almost started to lie, he almost said he just got lost in the city. But then remembered Membrane lying to his children without a care. He couldn't do that to Dib. "It was your father…he knew the whole time…He knew what I was…" Zim confessed. He hide his face in Dib's chest. Dib tensed up at the news. "When I went over there to work with him…he tricked me and broke the projector…"

"That bastard…" Dib whispered. "He lied to me…"

"He lied to you and Gaz…I heard him…" Zim said.

"What did he do to you…?" Dib asked in a hollow whisper. Zim didn't want to answer that one. "Zim…what did he do?" Dib asked more strongly.

"Do you remember…that my pak holds everything that I am…?" Zim asked. Dib nodded, waiting for the rest. Zim told him, not sparing details. Zim kept his eyes averted from Dib, he didn't want to see the fire in Dib's eyes.

How could his father do that? Knowing how Dib felt, he still trapped Zim and captured him. It was an utter betrayal. He trusted him and…he used that trust to get the ultimate specimen. Dib could understand his father's actions, but they were still wrong.

"Zim…we've got to go over there…" Dib muttered. Zim just nodded. He knew how Dib was feeling, he was hurt, and Zim wasn't going to stand in Dib's way.

"What about the refugee people?" Zim asked, still unsure about what to do.

"Do you want to join them? They wanna take down the Irken Empire…" Dib said.

"I think…I'd rather stay on earth…Irk can rot for all I care. And the 'refugees' probably aren't any better than the empire…" Zim muttered. Dib agreed, the small band in the living room didn't seem very good, in fact they seemed hostile. Especially Mau…

"I'll go tell them the bad news," Dib said, getting up and leaving. Zim sat on the bed, thinking.

"Hey, guys," Dib said as he came to the living room. At the same time, Gaz opened the door.

"Here," She muttered, handing something to Dib. It was a shiny metal necklace.

"Gaz…this is Zim's holograph projector! You fixed it…how?" Dib asked, staring at her in surprised and shock.

"Pfff…easy," She said, sitting on the couch next to Mau. "It's not so hard."

Dib watched her, she was playing her GS5 at their house, on their couch…for no reason. Oh well, maybe she was bored of her own house. Dib cleared his throat, getting the Irkens attention. "Hey guys…um, we can't come back to your base with you…" Dib said, feeling awkward under the questioning stares of the Irkens. Well, three of them, Mau was watching Gaz play her game. "It's just that…we don't want to be in a rebellion…The Irken Empire is wrong, they need to be overthrown, but we just want a nice quiet life here…we'll let you guys handle the fighting…"

Kei nodded. "That's wise and understandable…however unfortunate…" She said calmly.

"We shall take our leave…" Rin said quietly. Dib nodded and watched as they went out the back door. He heard the ship taking off. Just as he was about to go back to Zim, he sensed Gaz glaring at him.

"You made one of my soldiers leave…" Gaz hissed. Dib could only assume she meant Mau.

"Well, he was leaving anyway…" He told her. She still glared. "Why don't you find yourself a 'soldier' who isn't insane," He suggested. She looked thoughtful at this and left. Dib sighed, everyone was out now. He wondered what Gaz meant by soldier…oh well, she had her own plans. He didn't care.

"Hey, Zim, Gaz fixed your projector," Dib called. He went to Zim.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Zim asked, slipping the projector on again. It worked the same as always.

"Yeah, Zim. We need to do this. He did something really wrong…we have to put it right," Dib assured him. Zim looked at him pleadingly, but nodded.

"Then let's go," Zim said softly. With nothing left to take care of, they set off for the labs.

Zim still wasn't sure if his head was back on right yet. He knew something went wrong in it over the past days. All he remembered was vague yelling and wanting for Dib. Was what the Professor did worse than other tortures he'd had to go through? Zim leaned into Dib rather unexpectedly. He should forget everything that happened in the past. The past was the past, right? None of those hurtful memories mattered anymore, right? So why were they now going to Membrane's labs to confront him? Dib wanted to, if Dib wanted to, they would. "Dib…" Zim breathed.

"Yeah, Zim," Dib said, surprised by Zim.

"I believe on earth it means a lot for one person to say to another person…words of…luuurv…so…" Zim struggled with what it was he wanted to say. Dib held his breath, could Zim be about to…? "Dib, I…I," He looked up into Dib's hopeful eyes, the ones that always rescued him, the ones that always held him when he needed it, the ones Zim always looked to when he felt alone, and then when he looked, he didn't feel alone anymore. "Dib, I love you…" Zim said with as much feeling as he could.

Dib's heart had just burst. Zim…speaking romantically? It didn't seem possible. But it was. "I love you too, Zim," Dib whispered, finally saying the words he'd always felt.

"I don't want to go back there…and see that man again…" Zim admitted. "But if you feel we need to…then I'll go…" Zim smiled at Dib.

"Thanks Zim," Dib said, bringing him close. Normally he wouldn't make Zim do something like this…but he just felt so strongly that it needed to be done. It was like some force was telling him that good would come of seeing his father.

The receptionist on duty at Membrane Labs sighed when Dib came in. She was used to his ranting. "We need to see my father," Dib demanded.

"Yes of course," She said in a bored tone. Dib waited with Zim. Dib looked up to talk to Zim when he noticed Zim had a crazy look in his eyes, and he was staring at a pen.

"Um…Zim?" Dib asked. Zim picked up the pen and snapped it in half angrily.

"Take that!" Zim yelled, holding the pen and grinning evilly. The receptionist stared at him in horror and sped up what she was doing. When the lines were busy, she took off running to find Membrane herself.

"You know…I'm not even gonna ask what that was about…" Dib mumbled, watching as Zim continued to snap all the pens he could find while laughing at them. Finally he was done a few minutes later. "Satisfied?" Dib asked. Zim calmed down and nodded.

The receptionist came back and directed them towards a hallway, Dib knew where to go. Dib laughed though when the woman gasped at all the ink that now stained her shiny desk. He wondered if that was sort of a way of revenge to Zim, who knew.

"Dib…" Membrane choked. "I didn't know you'd be coming by."

"I bet you didn't," Dib hissed. Zim tried not to be angry…any scientist would have done the same. But when he looked at Membrane, something lit inside. He kept control of himself though, Dib wanted to talk to the man, then Zim could kill him.

"You know I didn't mean you harm, son," Membrane tried to reason.

"Did mean _me_ harm, dad? You took the one person I've ever loved, how would that not hurt me?" Dib asked, getting emotional.

"I was only protecting earth…" Membrane said quietly.

"Then what about peace treaties, you could have done something less violent to solve this. And besides…the earth wasn't even in danger…if only you had asked me…" Dib said. Membrane nodded.

"I'm sorry son…how can I make this up to you?" Membrane asked.

"You can't…you did so much…" Dib said sadly. Zim twitched, he was getting a feeling…a feeling something bad was going to happen.

"Son, please. I love you. And if this alien…Zim. If he really means so much to you, I accept. Please…just forgive me," Membrane pleaded.

"No…. There's nothing you can say that can make up for what you did…" Dib said coldly. Something heavy burst through the door at that moment.

"No one move…" Kei muttered, holding up a very advanced looking gun. She didn't realize how clichéd her line just was.

"Kei…I thought you left," Dib gasped. Kei grinned and aimed for Dib.

"Of course I wouldn't. How can I when the bounty on your head's so high?" Kei asked.

"I knew you hadn't changed!" Zim yelled at her.

"You're right Zim, once a bounty hunter, always a hunter," Kei said with a smile. "Dib…I don't think you realize…but the Meekrob have a prophecy about you, you're supposed to win some war for them…. So half the galaxy has a high reward on your head now. And Zim…you too?" She said sweetly, "Too good to pass up, I'm sure you've pissed someone off bad enough to have a bounty by now."

"I won't let you hurt Dib!" Membrane and Zim both yelled. Zim was already in front of Dib, but Membrane stepped closer to Kei, blocking her way.

"Pff, big man, you think your dumb body can protect them?" She asked. She clicked a button on her gun.

"I won't let you hurt my son…or Zim…" Membrane said.

"Very well, stupid man," Kei said happily. She fired the gun loudly, sending out a shock wave. Electricity hit Membrane, sending him flying. Dib went to his side. Some of the shock passed through him and to Zim, but he ignored it. Before Kei could fire again, he had one of his lasers out and shot her with it.

Her body hit the ground with a thud. Her gun slid across the floor. Zim turned at the sounds of crying. Dib was at Membrane's side, willing him to live. Zim had felt the energy, he knew the man would've been dead the moment it touched him. "Dib…" Zim called, "We need to leave…"

"We can't just leave him here," Dib said, wetness streaking his cheeks. Zim drew him into his arms.

"We have to…people will be here soon…we can't let them assume…" Zim trailed off, letting Dib guess what he meant. Dib nodded, getting up shakily. Zim ignored the burning sensation as Dib's tears fell on Zim. He couldn't imagine what it was like to know someone your whole life…only for them to die right before your eyes.

When they made it home, no one was there. Zim was half expecting the other 'refugees' to be waiting there, but they weren't. Just a cold, empty house. Dib and Zim sat on the couch wearily. Dib laid on Zim's chest, falling asleep. Zim wondered how things had changed so quickly. He had hated Membrane, now he was dead. He saved both Dib and himself…was he good now? Zim had no idea. But he no longer held hate for him. He doubted Dib did either. The man gave his life…after a life of lies and betrayal, he saved them from death. Zim contemplated that for a long while, still unsure of what it all meant.

…

Gaz sat in her ship. She started calling it her ship when Dib stopped noticing how often she took it. Gir was on her lap, making noises into a radio speaker. It wasn't connected to anything, but it was nice to let Gir have fun. She had gone out as Dib suggested, and she attained new recruits. She decided to forget about Zim and Dib, they had their own worries, they wouldn't have been good in her army anyway. She looked out the window and smiled.

There, at her command, stood a massive army. They were at her beck and call. All they wanted was orders. A thousand men. And that was where she was at, at the moment. In every country in the world, under different names, there were countless armies awaiting her signal to begin the war. She chuckled. She would probably end the whole thing by setting a peace agreement in place and becoming ruler of the world. But the thought that she could start a war with so much as a phone call…it felt good to be the ruler of the world.

…

"Dib…is it the end?" Zim asked.

"Yes…yes it is…" Dib answered sadly.

"Will there be another one," Zim asked hopefully.

"Of course there will," Dib said, looking at Zim like he was crazy. Well, he was crazy. "We'll have to wait a while, but there will be another one…"

"Good…I can't believe it's over…" Zim sighed.

"I know…but seriously…it's just summer. Summer comes and goes…" Dib said positively. Zim looked up, smiling. "Sure, we have to wait, but summer will be around again."

"Good," Zim breathed, leaning into Dib. He loved just laying around the house with Dib, it was so relaxing. Dib pulled Zim's chin up to kiss him.

"Things will be different you know?" Dib said.

"Yeah, I know…" Zim said. He knew Skool and the time after it will change a lot, but as long as Dib was there, nothing could shake Zim.

...  
…The End :)  
...

Don't worry, there will be an epilogue!

And it won't be a sucky, Harry Potter-like epilogue either! (No offence if you like the epilogue to Harry Potter)

Like they said, there will be a sequel! It's too irresistible for me to pass up :)

I hope my ending wasn't too bad, I tried to make it all suspency. Oh well. Thank you all for reading, I love you. And to you all who followed me all this way and suffered through my cliffhangers and weird plot twists and almost non-existent plot, I love you so much! You helped me so much!

FunFact: I wrote an original novel in the space of a year, and this fic took less than a month and is longer than the novel I wrote. 0.o I guess this summer was just really boring haha. Anyway, too long of an author's note now. Epilogue, here I come!


	15. Epilogue: Again

Epilogue: Again.

The sun was just rising. It was way too early to get up for Skool, but Dib wanted to make a stop. It was cold with the approaching winter, but Dib's hand in Zim's kept him warm. Humans were strange, Zim decided. They buried their dead only to put a stone on top of it. The stone read the man's name and span of life. Dib stared at it sadly. Zim tightened his grip on Dib's hand, hoping Dib would stop being sad. Dib looked up and smiled.

"It's the last day of Skool this semester, let's not give them a reason to lock us in the underground classrooms all winter," Dib suggested. Zim nodded quickly. They started walking towards the Skool, feeling good about the upcoming break in work.

"Your sister is scary…" Zim whispered as they passed yet another one of her posters. She had her arms crossed and was glaring at anyone who dared look at the poster, which was somewhat contradictory. Things had changed over the fall. Gaz had somehow gained power in all the countries of the world and manipulated them so that everyone was at peace. Now she was reining Queen of the world. There were no more presidents or ministers or leaders. Only Gaz. It made life a bit easier, although Gaz liked torture too, so all the high Skool teachers had a lot more power over discipline. Dib shuddered, remembering what happened to one kid who was late to class. No one had heard from him yet.

"At least we have pardons," Dib reminded him. Gaz had set up a system, everyone that graduates is put hard at work. Some to be laborers, some to be in the army. Why they needed an army if there was no war? No one knew, but Gaz ordered it and it was done. But Zim and Dib secretly had pardons from her to live in peace somewhere without having to work.

"Yeah…" Zim sighed. He leaned on Dib lazily. "So…Whatcha wanna do after Skool?" Zim asked.

"I dunno…what we always do?" Dib suggested.

"That's getting boring…" Zim mumbled. Dib glared at him, Zim blushed. "Well, n-not boring…just, we always do that…and…um…"

Dib laughed. "It's okay…what do you think we should do?" Dib asked, Zim stared off into space.

"Let's go on a vacation," Zim said happily.

"Haha, like where?" Dib asked. He knew if he asked Gaz, she would set them up with a plane to anywhere they wanted.

"I know this one vacation planet, it's not too far out either," Zim said, nudging Dib.

"That doesn't sound too bad," Dib reasoned. A vacation on a different planet seemed like a very good idea, in fact.

…

Gaz put her game down. She'd beaten it about a hundred times now. Things were getting a little boring on earth now. She'd have to take over another planet now. She'd already promised the moon to Gir, so now all she had to do was find an alien planet. She had all the equipment ready. Mau had helped her to ready the Voot for outer space. The insane little guy even gave her coordinates for his planet before he left. Maybe she'd invade Irk someday. That sounded good. She grinned. Tallest Gaz, it was only right.

…

"I'm bored…" Purple said lazily, grazing on a bad of donuts.

"We should do something…" Red suggested, equally as lazy with a slurpy in hand.

"Zim hasn't called in a few months…" Purple observed, staring at the transmission screen.

"Yeah, thank Jashin…" Red sighed.

"Hey, I think I know how we can torture him more!" Purple said, getting excited.

"How?"

"We can…take over earth…and put Zim to work with the humans!" Purple exclaimed.

"Wow, Purple, you actually had an idea…" Red said in surprise. Purple shoved a donut in his mouth.

"Yeah…that happens sometimes…" Purple said, enjoying the donuts. He suddenly got bored of them and tossed the bag over the raised platform they always sat on. A pack of Irken workers snatched up the bag before it even reached the ground and consumed it like starved bilge rats. Whether this was because they _were_ quite starved, or just excited to be able to eat something their leaders had touched is unsure, but it always creeped out the Tallest.

"Hey, get back to work!" Red snapped, "And set a course for Planet Earth." The near-mindless workers began setting the Missive towards Earth, feeling pity for anyone who resided there.

…

….

…

….

Wow this was short. I've never wrote an epilogue. Heh, I couldn't help but put a cliffhanger. Anyway, the sequel will be named Blessed and will be posted soon :)

But you know what is posted right now? My little sister's story Forsaken! She's my protégé, hehe. Anyway, go to NikkiNaive, and read her story, I promise it's good!


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